Hikari no Yami
by Yami Riyunoa
Summary: FINAL CHAPTER AND EPILOGUE UP! Will Yugi and Yami stay together forever? Read to find out! Shonen-ai YXYY
1. Hikari

Chapter 1: Hikari 

As Atemu stepped into the Eye of Ujat, a wave of sadness washed over Yugi, but he knew this was inevitable, he had known it since he was able to speak with Yami, his mou hitori no boku. Yami was not of their world; he had been a pharoah in Egypt three thousand years ago, and had his soul sealed inside the Millennium Puzzle, his name lost in the sands of time. Eventually Yugi and his friends discovered that Yami's name was Atemu, this name he had used when he'd been a pharoah.

Everything had been all right then, even when Atemu had to return to his own time. Yugi knew he would survive, with his friends by his side. _"Soshite--boku no monogatari wa hajimatta bakari nanda!!" "My story is just beginning!"_

Now, three months later, he wasn't quite so sure. Beaten and bruised, he lay on the rooftop of Domino High School. Joey and Tristan, his best friends once, had treated him to a few punches as usual. They never failed to do so whenever Yugi crossed their paths. He never retaliated, even smiling at them through his pain and suffering because he believed that violence never solved anything. Little did he know that his smiles annoyed them, and fueled their anger. 

After Yami was gone, time reverted to before Yugi had assembled the Millennium Puzzle. Now he would have to live out that chapter in his life again; only with no Millennium Puzzle to help him out of tight spots. Joey, Tea, Tristan, and the others had all forgotten everything that had happened; about the Millennium Puzzle, Yami, and even Duel Monsters, since there were no more Shadow Games. Even Yugi was beginning to doubt that it really occurred, it was all just too fantastical to be believable. __

Yugi's mother had taken him to dozens of psychiatrists, convinced that he was mentally disturbed. It wasn't his fault he frequently dreamed about Yami. When he'd finally told his mother about the whole incident because she'd seemed so concerned and understanding, he just got lugged to another shrink. Frustrated, Yugi never bothered to tell anyone anything anymore, just keeping to himself most of the time.

The school rooftop was the only place where he could actually find solace, and listen to his own thoughts without being interrupted. Not that anyone cared, though. His mother was always busy, and Grandpa was just plain obsessed with games. He could stay at the rooftop for a year, and nobody would make him leave. 

_I wish I had someone to speak with… It's a little lonely… When mou hitori no boku was around… Why did you have to leave? I knew you'd be gone sooner or later; good things always come to an end… I… I hate you!_

Tears of anger mixed with sadness formed in his eyes, and he wiped them away furiously.

_What's the point of living anymore?_

Yugi was hurting, both physically and mentally. Atemu's departure had depressed him, and he was now lost in a sea of darkness. 

Pulling himself to his feet, Yugi examined the fresh wounds on his arms and decided to wear his school coat to prevent any awkward situations. When he got home, he remembered that he had homework. It was the only thing he was enthusiastic about nowadays. His grades had improved by leaps and bounds now that he never visited the arcade after school. And there was no Duel Monsters to keep him occupied. When Yami had been around, the two had frequented the arcade, to satisfy Yami's hunger for games. 

_/Yami… Maybe you don't really exist after all… It was all a dream… But I wish you were real…_

_//Aibou… are you there? Do you still remember me?_

No response. 

Yami felt a little sad that Yugi was beginning to think that all that had happened was just a fantasy, but he knew that life had to go on. He was the pharoah now; he had to take charge of his life, or darkness would reign in Egypt once more. 

_// I miss you Aibou… Why don't you speak to me anymore?_

"Pharaoh Atemu, what are you thinking about?" a familiar voice penetrated his thoughts. It was his advisor.

"Uh… Nothing!" Yami said in embarrassment. He could not just space out like that in front of his people, for they might doubt his ability. 

"As I was saying, I propose an increase in taxes so that we'll be able to improve this country," High Priest Seto was saying. "This whole place will become less of a mess, Pharoah Atemu." 

Resting his chin on his hand, Yami listened halfheartedly as Seto detailed his entire plan. This was getting boring, and who cared about taxes anyway? The shadow duels were interesting enough, but _taxes_? Worst of all, _he_ was the one who had to announce everything, and nobody liked having to pay more money. Sighing, Yami resigned to his fate, and began thinking of Domino City and Duel Monsters. 

_//I'm just his darkness… He doesn't need me anymore._

~

Yugi opened the mailbox and took out the stack of paper. More ads, a letter for Grandpa, and… A letter addressed to him! Yugi ripped open the envelope and started reading. It was from KaibaCorp, and they had approved his application to be a beta tester for their new game Duel Monsters RPG. It had been almost a month since he'd applied, so he'd clean forgotten about it. 

As soon as Yugi read the words "Duel Monsters RPG", he gasped in delight and astonishment, almost dropping the package on the ground. Nobody in the entire city remembered anything about Duel Monsters at all; it was only a part of his memory. Unless Kaiba had some memory of that time too! After all, Kaiba had been a high priest in Egypt aeons ago. 

Enclosed was a card in the shape of the Blue Eyes White Dragon; Yugi grinned to himself, it had been Kaiba's favourite Duel Monster. Combined with Yugi's inherited love of games, Duel Monsters RPG was sure to get Yugi hooked. 

Sprinting up to his room, he plopped himself down on his swivel chair, hardly able to contain his excitement as he pushed the button on the Blue Eyes card that was supposed to activate the game. Instantly, he was transported to a medieval town that looked vaguely familiar; it was ancient Egypt! 

He could feel the scorching sun beating down on him, and smell the musty odor of Egypt. It all felt so real, and he completely forgot that he was sitting at his desk in Domino City, and had homework to do. 

Gawking at the sight, he realized that he was the only one there, except for the shopkeepers who were all non-player characters (NPCs). Yugi shielded his eyes in shock as a flash of light blinded him, and another player materialized in front of him.

"Bakura!" Yugi cried, before realizing that Bakura probably lost his memory of the times they shared together, like Joey had. To his utmost surprise, Bakura turned to him and greeted him, "Hi, Yugi!"

Yugi had not tried talking to Bakura at school because he'd been so sure Bakura would be like the others, and give him a weird look. However, Bakura whispered to Yugi, "Do you remember anything about… you know…" 

From Bakura's tone, the realization that Bakura probably had faced the same problems hit Yugi hard. He nodded, and the two mused about their problems as they headed aimlessly out of the quaint little town. 

"Yugi, so you remember everything about Atemu?" Bakura began cautiously. "How come everyone else has forgotten?"  

Yugi admitted guiltily, " I almost forgot, too… Yesterday I began to doubt my memories…"

As they walked on in silence, a large bird swooped down, almost knocking Bakura to the ground. It was the Whiptail Crow. Rushing to Bakura's aid, Yugi saw a furry monster bounce towards him-it was Kuriboh. It used Multiply, and soon there were dozens of Kuriboh forming a protective wall around the two. A Petit Angel appeared out of nowhere, and the Whiptail Crow was soon defeated, and all but one of the Kuriboh vanished. The last Kuriboh leaped into Yugi's arms, and Yugi hugged it delightedly. 

The Petit Angel flew to Bakura, who said, "So we fight with these Duel Monsters?"

"This'll be fun!" Yugi grinned for the first time in days, his problems and Yami forgotten. 


	2. Yuujou?

**Chapter 2: Yuujou**

_I'm gonna ask Joey. I'm sure he'll understand, after all we'd been best friends for so long… Bakura remembered, so maybe he will, too. I didn't really get to tell him before; he beat me up before I could even say Duel Monsters. _

Yugi's heart filled with newfound hope and courage as he walked confidently to his classroom. Despite being alone, he did not somehow feel lonely anymore. After yesterday's gaming session with Bakura, he had felt better about himself. 

School wouldn't start for five more minutes; so Yugi headed purposefully to Joey's desk. He was feeling a little trepid now, as he saw that the expression on Joey's face was even more furious than usual. Joey looked up as he saw Yugi standing in front of his desk. 

"What's up, runt? Looking for a beating?" Joey taunted, slightly irritated. Why did Yugi always have to look so pleasant, even in the face of trouble? And his height… made him even better to tease…

"Uh… Joey, I…"

"Just spit it out, baka," Joey rolled his eyes impatiently. 

"Joey do you remember anything about the Millennium Puzzle and… and D…Duel Monsters? Re…Red Eyes?" Yugi mumbled, looking at the ground, all his confidence gone. 

"WHAT _ARE_ YOU TALKING ABOUT?!~" Joey yelled, fury building up. "ARE YOU _CRAZY_?!~ THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS THE MILLENNIUM PUZZLE!!~"

Clenching his fists, Joey lunged at Yugi. Thankfully, the bell rang, and Joey sank into his seat. Sighing, Yugi too returned too his place, but couldn't concentrate on his lessons, musing about Joey the entire day.

_What can I do to make him remember…? I wonder if he knows about Duel Monsters RPG…_

After school, however, Joey sought out Yugi, who was heading to the school rooftop as usual. 

"Hey, Yug!" Joey called enthusiastically. 

"Joey!" Yugi turned to see Joey giving him a friendly grin-or so he thought, and returned the smile. 

But Joey's expression turned nasty, and he snarled sardonically, "Hehe Yugi. Since you _lovvveee_ getting beaten up so much, take this!"

And with that, Joey punched him in the face.

~

Groaning, Yugi sat up. Why was everything so blurry? And where was he? The last thing he remembered was Joey beating him up. It had hurt so much. Yugi didn't mind so much the physical pain-he was used to it. But he felt betrayed; he had put all his hope in Joey, and now Joey…

_"Yugi, there's no way you could've ever been my friend! You're just a little crybaby. Did you mean you were my punching bag? There's no friendship between us. No way!"  _

When he had approached Téa, the results weren't that good either…

_"What do you mean, Yugi? We've never been best friends…" _

And she'd just walked away, giggling with her friends, leaving Yugi standing on the sidewalk.

Tears rolled down Yugi's cheeks, unchecked. He felt terrible. Why didn't anyone want to even look at him? There wasn't any reason, he got good grades, didn't create trouble, didn't offend people like Joey did, and generally just tried to stay out of everyone's way.

_It's not fair… Why is it that people like Joey have so many friends, even if they go around beating people up? It's not that I wanna be popular… I just want to have someone to talk to and play games with… Bakura is my only friend, and I'm grateful. But he sits at the other end of the classroom and he lives so far away so we can't really talk or hang out together. _

"Ow…" Yugi winced. He hadn't been beaten up this badly before. Reaching up to wipe away the tears from his eyes, he gasped in agony and shock as he saw his hand, which was stained with blood and tears. Yugi never did like the sight of blood, and he grew queasy. 

Picking himself up, he used the wall as a support. His vision blurred and his exhaustion incremented, he realized that he couldn't stand, let alone walk home. But he could try… Taking a torturous step forward, he felt himself fall flat on his face, and passed out.

~

Yami felt pain searing through his body, and he opened his eyes momentarily. What had woken him at this graveyard hour? The Millennium Puzzle around his neck glowed, and he envisioned Yugi falling helplessly into an endless darkness. 

_//Aibou!! Please be okay! Can you hear me? Hikari!_

Yami could feel all of Yugi's sadness and pain, and he felt his eyes moisten.__

_/Yami… Is it really you? _

_//I'm here, for real! Don't… Don't die on me okay? _

~

Yugi felt someone shaking him gently, and he opened his eyes tentatively. 

"Seto Kaiba!" he murmured, all his strength drained from him… and lost consciousness once more.

"Yugi, I thought you were dead! I got to get you home!" Kaiba carried Yugi all the way down from the school rooftop and helped him into his limousine. 

"Go to the Kame game shop!" Kaiba instructed the chauffeur, impatience in his voice. 

_"Huh, if he hadn't been such a great duelist, I wouldn't care less. Anyway I'm helping him only this once. You owe me one, Yugi," Kaiba thought. "And that guy you call Yami too. I'm gonna beat you once and for all."   _

Yugi awoke to the sound of his grandfather's voice, and squirmed as he saw that he was almost mummified. He did not really hurt any more, but didn't really remember what had happened. The last thing he remembered was Joey whacking him… and he had stumbled to the school rooftop…

"You're awake Yugi," a gruff voice addressed him. 

Turning towards the direction of the voice, Yugi saw Kaiba standing in the doorway of his room, speaking to his grandfather.

"Yugi, I daresay you've got a fine friend here, my boy," his granddad commented. "He brought you all the way home yesterday when you were all bloody…" 

Kaiba picked up the card on Yugi's desk, and smiled in recognition as he saw it was in the shape of Blue Eyes. 

"You're beta testing Duel Monsters RPG?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's a great game… Were you the one who designed it?" Yugi asked, a little shyly. 

He couldn't believe that Kaiba was being so nice to him, even though they had been classmates for years, and during _that _time, that were almost friends… Back when Joey was still treating him like a human. 

"I _am_ the CEO of KaibaCorp, you know… Or have you lost your memory? Like everyone else…"

Gazing at Kaiba in amazement, Yugi cried, "You remember? A… About Pharaoh Atemu, Duel Mon…"

Kaiba interrupted, "Course I do. Why do you think that card is in the shape of Blue Eyes? " 

Kaiba left for school, and Yugi stayed home that day; he was medically exempted. 

_/Yami, are you real or not? I really don't know anymore…_

_//How come?_

_/Yesterday, I thought I heard your voice, calling me… _

It was then Yugi realized in shock that _someone_, the owner of a _very_ familiar voice had said "How come?"

_Argh… I must be hallucinating… Yami is gone… He can't be here… Maybe Joey knocked me on the head too hard yesterday…_

Just then, Yugi realized that school was over, and Bakura might be playing Duel Monsters RPG. And remembered that he'd forgotten to ask Kaiba whether he played it. Sure, he was the creator, but he didn't necessarily play it… 

~ 

Kaiba grinned to himself, as he looked at the virtual world around him, pleased with his creation. He hadn't really got a chance to play it yet; he'd been too busy. And seeing that Yugi was playing… It could be a chance to make some friends, like Mokuba had been bugging him to. He'd told Mokuba to stand on his own feet at first, but after seeing Mokuba having so much fun with his friends… 

He created his character carefully; making sure that it bore absolutely no significance to him in reality, and chose the player name "BlUeEyEsRuLeZ". Now nobody, not even Mokuba'd figure that he was Seto Kaiba. 

Shaking his head, Kaiba realized that he was beginning to think that friendship was very important. All thanks to Mokuba and Yugi's preaching… He could also use this opportunity to watch Mokuba's back while he played Duel Monsters RPG. 

As soon as he logged on, he saw Yugi and Bakura materialize in front of him. He never imagined that he'd ever be playing a game with two other people; he was usually an individualist who went around solo. Yugi and Bakura immediately invited him to join their party, and the three headed for the forest that lay ahead. 

"Um, hi, where do you come from?" Yugi asked in his usual polite manner.

"I… uh…" Kaiba mumbled. 

_"Oh man, I sound like a blundering baka," Kaiba thought to himself. "So unconfident and shy…"_

Thankfully, Yugi did not pursue the matter, and Kaiba heaved a sigh of relief. 

_"It's not easy making friends… How does Mokuba do it?" _


	3. Duel's End

Yu-Gi-Oh! is owned by Kazuki Takahashi. 

invisible-eyes: Glad you liked it, I wasn't sure if it was a good idea, since it's quite different from most of the fanfics on this site…

Alienna Azuani: Hehe, gotta agree that Seto, Yugi, and Yami are the coolest anime characters!! o^:^o  Kawaii!!~ 

Yami Tangela, pharaohs angel: Well so the next chapter is here! I don't think I will have much of a problem updating cuz I kinda have the story in my head already… But I hope my imagination won't turn upside down…

redconvoy: I was wondering, what if Jounouchi/Joey wasn't one of Yugi's best friends? And time reversed, what would happen to Yugi?

Thank you for reviewing! And send any suggestions to tifachu@hotmail.com 

**Chapter 3: Duel's End **

Yami looked up at the dark sky. It was at times like this when he kind of wished that he were born in a different era. Being a regular teenager in Domino City was a lot easier, he didn't have to think about the entire country, all he had to do was play Duel Monsters. Despite the fact that lives were at risk-like when Grandpa had his soul stolen by Pegasus in Duelist Kingdom- he did enjoy playing Duel Monsters, and hanging out with Joey, Tea, Tristan, and the others. _Yugi sure has it easy_, he thought, wistfully.

_//Aibou don't you remember what you said when I had to go? You said that you'd never forget me. I didn't say anything… I didn't want to make you cry. I won't ever forget you either…_

_/I wish I were in Egypt with you, mou hitori no boku… _

_//I… I'm not your mou hitori no boku anymore. _

_/I don't care, you'll always be.  _

_//Yeah…_

Smiling fondly, Yami turned and headed back to the palace. 

~

Yugi awoke with a start, and realized that he'd been crying in his sleep again. Wiping his tears away, he tried to catch the wisps of his dream that were floating away, but with no success. Morning light was shining through the curtains already, and he had to go to school. 

"Yugi, Bakura's here!" Gramps called. "You'd better hurry!"

Bakura lived right on the opposite side of town, so Yugi was surprised that he was here. Hastily throwing on his school coat, Yugi ran outside, and saw Bakura standing on the sidewalk, grinning broadly as usual. Yugi soon found out that he passed his house daily while he walked to school. 

"Bakura, do you… miss the other Bakura?" Yugi asked.

Bakura replied, "Sure I do… But it's okay, since… we can still speak to each other, even if he's still in ancient Egypt."

"Really?!~ How?!"

"It's just like when we still had the Millennium Items, Yugi-kun."  

_/Yami? _

_//What's wrong aibou?_

"He's not there…" Yugi did not hear the reply. 

"Hmm… I don't know…" Bakura murmured, deep in thought. "You mentioned that you almost forgot everything that happened in Egypt. Maybe the doubt in your mind is blocking you from him…"

Seeing Yugi's worried expression, Bakura said with a smile, "Maybe after a while you can hear him again… Don't worry too much about it."

Just then, Joey came up beside them. "Hey Yugi, you finally found a friend, huh? Now maybe you'll start acting your age, runt!" 

"Will you just leave him alone? He hasn't done anything to offend you!" Bakura said hotly. 

"Ooh, so you're gonna start playing with stupid kiddy toys now, like little Yugi!" Joey teased, reaching to grab Yugi by the hair.

"Yugi is not childish and he's my friend!" Bakura cried, and held Joey back. Struggling, Joey finally broke free, brushing himself off. 

"I'll let you off today, Mutou!" Joey walked off, eyeing Bakura suspiciously. Bakura didn't usually speak to anyone, he was the quiet sort like Yugi, but nobody ever bothered him. For one thing, he had the height of a regular teenager.

There was a math test that day, which Yugi had studied for extremely conscientiously as usual, so he was left staring at his completed paper, having finished slightly earlier than most of the others. Suddenly a soft beep caught his attention, and he turned to the source of the sound. 

Kaiba, sitting in front of him, was staring ahead, glassy-eyed, a dazed expression on his face, and holding… the infamous Blue Eyes card.

"He's probably playtesting Duel Monsters RPG," Yugi thought to himself, and realized that the teacher was already collecting the papers. Watching him for awhile more, he saw that he wasn't going to let up on his game playing anytime soon, and reached out to tap him on the shoulder. Sitting up in his seat, Kaiba returned to reality, and hurriedly handed the teacher his test paper. Kaiba turned around and thanked him, with a slight grin, surprising Yugi greatly. 

_That's weird, since when did Kaiba become so smiley? _ 

~

"Big brother!" Mokuba slammed the front door shut as he returned from school. Kaiba was immersed in DMRPG as usual. "My friends are here to play with me!!"

"_Big brother!_" Mokuba yelled again, more persistently this time, and when he yielded no reply, ran to his brother's office, and grabbed the DMRPG card from his hands. Kaiba blinked in surprise as he saw his office materialize in front of him, he'd been in Egypt barely a moment ago… And now there was a bunch of scruffy-looking kids staring at him as if he had sprouted another nose.

"Mokuba, go play with your friends okay?" Kaiba said impatiently, wanting to go back to playing. 

"No, can you play with us?" Mokuba insisted, "Pleaseeeee?~"    

"Later?" Kaiba said, almost pleading. Why in Domino City would the CEO of KaibaCorp want to play with a bunch of kids? And what would they want to play? 

"Now!!" Mokuba yelled excitedly. "Catch me if you can, oniisan!!" 

Defeated, Kaiba chased Mokuba and his friends around the estate, his long legs giving him an advantage over the twelve-year-old. It was useless arguing with Mokuba when he was in a hyperactive mood. 

At last he was back to playing DMRPG with Yugi and Bakura. And for once in his life, he was actually having fun with other people. But he soon came to wonder, were they having fun with him? They sure seemed like they were. 

_What will they say if they find out that I'm actually Seto Kaiba, the arrogant baka? Will they be mad at me…? No. I can't be afraid of their opinions, I've been on my own for so long. But maybe I should tell them…_

Shaking his thoughts from his head, Kaiba turned his attention back to the other two. Seeing Yugi smile so happily as he hugged his Kuriboh for the millionth time was amusing. And Bakura… Kaiba'd never expected him to like the Petit Angel; he didn't really seem to like cute stuff… Kaiba himself used the Blue Eyes White Dragon. Obviously. There was no other Duel Monster he liked more than Blue Eyes, and he'd scorned at Pegasus' toonification of it. However, nobody knew that he owned a stuffed Blue Eyes; Mokuba had given it to him on his last birthday. If anyone else had given him one, he'd probably have tossed it in the trash…

A truckload of Prevent Rats appeared on the field and Yugi used Kuriboh's Multiply while Blue Eyes Burst Stream-ed them all to oblivion. Bakura used Petit Angel's healing ability to restore the party's abilities, and they continued their adventure along the narrow dirt track. The battles were few and far apart, so that left plenty of time to chat. After their interrogations, Kaiba had finally disclosed himself as Ash, from France. 

"Yugi so have you tried again since this morning?" Bakura asked gently. The Pharoah was a _very_ sensitive subject. Yugi had never gotten mad at anyone before, but Bakura did not want to upset him. 

"Nopey," Yugi replied, a little edgily. To tell the truth, Yugi had been afraid he'd really lost all connections with his Yami. 

Meanwhile, Kaiba was pondering about what Bakura had said. _What _had Yugi not tried since that morning? _Don't tell me Yugi's on drugs, I never expected him to… But that could explain why he's so short…_

_/Mou hitori no boku!! Answer me! Yami!!_

_//Hey aibou, what're you yelling about? _

Once again, Yugi did not-or could not-hear any reply. "Yami where are you?" Yugi murmured, tears welling up in his eyes. 

Quickly he blinked these away, and turned to Kaiba, "How long more till the next town, Ash?" 

The others still did not figure that "Ash" was Mr. CEO. 

"Almost ther-" Kaiba began, but was interrupted by Mokuba grabbing the card out of his grasp. 

"Big brother! Help me with my math homework! I'm stuck again!" Mokuba screeched into Kaiba's ear. There was a slight bit of lag as he returned to the "real world", and his voice-which had been modified to have a British accent throughout the game-could be distinctively distinguished as Seto Kaiba's. 

"Hey did you hear that?" Bakura nudged Yugi as Kaiba's avatar disappeared from DMRPG. "It sounded very familiar… Like Kaiba…"

Nodding distractedly, Yugi agreed, "Yeah, it did sound like him. But, maybe he just sounds like Kaiba… I'm sure it's not him. He was a lot friendlier than Kaiba." 

Soon, Kaiba was back, apologizing for the interruptions. However he had forgotten to turn on the voice-modifying software! Yugi and Bakura stood rooted to the ground in shock, as this second chance to hear his real voice confirmed their suspicions. 

"What?" Kaiba asked, a little self-consciously, and found to his embarrassment that his voice-modifying program was off. The trio gaped at each other for a moment, and Kaiba, realizing that his cover had been blown, revealed his true identity, removing all modifications to his character. 

"Um, you guys…" Kaiba muttered awkwardly, blushing slightly. "I…"

"Kaiba! Why didn't you just say so?" Yugi broke the ice between them, Yami forgotten for the time being. 

"You're not mad?" Kaiba looked from one to the other; both had recovered from their initial shock, and were grinning at him, and he returned their smiles. Not an intimidating one, like his usual, but a sincere one. The war between Yugi and Kaiba was over; now that the Duel Monsters card game was gone, it was pointless to be rivals. Or perhaps after what happened in Egypt, they had become somewhat closer…  

+++++


	4. Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Fire

Yu-Gi-Oh! is owned by Kazuki Takahashi, not me. And don't bother suing, I can't even afford a Structure Deck. ^_^ 

-----

Chapter 4: Out of the Frying Pan and into the Fire 

"Class, you have to do a science innovation project to be submitted on the first week of the next term. Please get into groups of three to discuss," the teacher instructed over the din. 

For this project, all they had to do was invent something-anything- and submit it. And the grades they got for the project would be counted for their examination. Which meant no written paper. At the back of the classroom, Joey could be heard whooping in joy. 

Everyone knew that Kaiba was an inventor; after all, he was the infamous head honcho of KaibaCorp. So it did not come as a surprise when all of a sudden he had so many "friends" all wanting to group with him. Ignoring them, he turned around to look at Yugi, who nodded and caught Bakura's glance over at the other end of the classroom. Seeing that Kaiba was going to group with Yugi and Bakura, the rest of the class glared at him, which Kaiba was used to, anyway. He never really bothered about anyone's opinions of him, and thus he had offended quite a few of his classmates. 

During lunch that day, Yugi met up with Kaiba, Bakura, and Kaiba's laptop and cell phone. It was the first time they had eaten lunch together, but Yugi had watched Kaiba eating lunch before. Everyone in school had. Kaiba attracted the most attention during lunch, because of his cell phone and laptop. He was polite enough to not use them during class [well, except that Blue Eyes card… did that count?] but at lunchtime, Mr. CEO had to keep on top of things at his multimillion-dollar company. Which meant his cell phone ringing to the tune of "Overlap", [the sixth opening theme of the Yu-Gi-Oh anime ^_^] and checking KaibaCorp's market status on his laptop. 

"Um… Kaiba-kun? Are you sure you can eat all that in one bite?" Bakura asked, looking at Kaiba in amusement. 

He had stuffed the entire sandwich he brought for lunch into his mouth and was now devouring it without much trouble. Yugi was already trying not to laugh, but seeing Bakura's expression made the two burst into peals of laughter. Kaiba had been concentrating hard on his work, but he looked up and looked at them like they were crazy. Seeing Yugi and Bakura giggling hysterically made him start laughing too, and soon the three were just laughing at nothing. They had never really had any friends, and were really enjoying the companionship. 

  
Kaiba's cell phone rang, and he answered it, controlling his laughter, but his efforts weren't very successful. Yugi and Bakura were still acting crazy, which didn't help things. 

"Mr. Kaiba? I think that you'll be very pleased to know that KaibaCorp's share prices have gone up," his friendly secretary's voice came through the phone. 

"Yes thank you," Kaiba hurriedly choked out before hanging up. There was _no way_ he was going to let anyone other than Yugi, Bakura, and Mokuba hear him laugh.

Even though I lied to Yugi and Bakura about my identity on DMRPG, they don't seem to be mad. In fact, they seem to accept me as one of them. Maybe Mokuba was right about making friends… It seems like a good thing. Father… He said never to trust anyone but… 

~Flashback~

"Seto, you're going to take over the company when you get older." a gruff voice penetrated his thoughts. It was Gozabura Kaiba, Seto's father. 

Eight-year-old Seto was busy typing on his computer, compiling the lines of code that he had typed neatly. He couldn't really read very well, but programming was a cinch to him. 

"Listen up, son!" Gozabura said sharply. "Don't ever trust anyone. People will always betray you." 

_Nodding slightly, Seto continued with his coding. _

_"Did you hear me?" Gozabura was furious now, and was practically hollering. "Answer me! Go outside and play with your brother!! You trust that stupid machine too much!"_

Then reaching over, Seto's father grabbed the computer monitor and dumped it on the tiled floor, and walked off in a rage for no reason at all, leaving Seto gasping in shock. It had taken him such a long time to save up for the computer, which he had bought from a garage sale, and even then it didn't come cheap…

"I hate you!" Seto thought, his body numb and his mind blank. Filled with hatred and resentment, jhe ran outside to the playground, trying to keep his tears within him. If Mokuba saw him crying, he would start crying too…

~

Kaiba put his hand on the identity scanner by the door, and the door unlocked itself. Opening it, he stepped inside, and Mokuba immediately flew into his arms. "Big brother!!" 

"Tadaima, Mokuba," Kaiba greeted as usual. But Mokuba had detached himself from Kaiba, and was gawking at Yugi and Bakura, who were looking around in awe. 

"Big brother, you have friends!" he cried excitedly. "Are they here to play with me?"

"Actually they're here to do our science project-" Kaiba said, but Mokuba had already started to drag Yugi and Bakura upstairs. "Hey, don't you have homework?" 

~

"_Big brother!!_" Mokuba hollered impatiently. 

"What, Mokuba?" Kaiba asked. Yugi and Bakura had gone home a few hours ago, so they were left alone, and he was tweaking DMRPG again.  

"I'm bored!! Play with me!!"

"In a while, okay?" Kaiba murmured. Between DMRPG, schoolwork, running KaibaCorp, and friendship, he didn't have as much time to spend with Mokuba as he used to. 

"_Big brother!!_"

"Later… 'Kay?" 

Running upstairs to his room, Mokuba cried, "You don't love me anymore!!"

The slam of a door could be heard, and Kaiba wondered what exactly Mokuba was whining about- he was still here, wasn't he? Assuming that Mokuba had a bad day at school, he didn't dwell too much on it, and continued typing on his computer. 

~

"Good morning Mokuba," Kaiba said to his little brother. But to his surprise, Mokuba acted like he was invisible, and turned away. This went on the entire morning, and breakfast was an awkward experience. Mokuba had never once ignored Kaiba, and the latter was beginning to feel uncomfortable.

"What could I have done to make Mokuba mad at me?" Kaiba thought anxiously, feeling a bit frustrated. "I didn't scold him or anything…" 

At school that day, Yugi and Bakura sensed Kaiba's distraction, and asked him about it. Their concern took him by surprise; nobody had ever asked him about his problems before, and he wondered if they would just roll their eyes if he told them about Mokuba. But his hesitation quickly dissipated as he saw their serious expressions.

"Mokuba's mad at me, I think," Kaiba sighed. "I don't know why."

"Maybe he's just feeling down," Bakura suggested.

"That's what I thought at first, but I really think he's angry with me for some reason."

/Yami, why do you think Mokuba is mad at Kaiba? Last time we saw him, he didn't seem to be the kind to get mad at anyone… 

As usual, Yugi couldn't hear anything from the ancient pharaoh, and felt the same pang of sadness and disappointment whenever he subconsciously spoke to Yami. It had become part of his routine, whenever he was thinking of something, he would somewhat "include" Yami in his train of thought, and have Yami give suggestions that were sometimes funny and quirky. 

After school that day, Kaiba and Yugi went to Kaiba's home again to work on their project again, Bakura had to help his father with his work at the museum. But this time there was no Mokuba to greet them. 

Opening the door to his office, Kaiba saw that Mokuba was sitting at his desk doing his homework. Little brother did not even glance up when he saw them. It was extremely obvious to everyone that Mokuba was giving Kaiba the silent treatment.

"Um… Mokuba? Is it okay if me and your big brother do our science project in here?" Yugi asked, trying to start a conversation with Mokuba, maybe he would open up to him and he'd find the source of the problem. Most people did just that anyway-Yugi was a very approachable and understanding fellow.

To his surprise though, Mokuba just grunted. No comment. "Um… Could I have something to drink?" Yugi asked, wanting to speak to Kaiba privately. "Okay," came the reply, and the two went outside.

"Kaiba, I don't really think he's angry with you alone. If he was mad at only you, then he'd talk to me, I guess." 

"Okay, so then what should I do?" For once, he did not have any solutions.  

"Did he say anything to you yesterday?" Yugi questioned gently.

"Yeah… Something about me not loving him anymore," Kaiba said, blushing slightly. 

"Um. Yesterday we were doing the project at your house right? Maybe he was upset that you didn't spend more time with him."

"That could be it… Usually I sit beside the guy and do his homework with him… So what now?" Kaiba was getting frustrated. Why was Mokuba acting like that all of a sudden? 

~

"Um. Mokuba?" Kaiba began timidly. "Are you mad at me?" 

No reply whatsoever came from Mokuba, making Kaiba feel even more disturbed. 

Oh no… Mokuba's mad at me… really mad… He won't talk to me even if I try to apologize. What can I do to make him forgive me? It's not my fault he's so oversensitive. Maybe if I leave him be for a couple of days… ~Flashback~ 

"Father, please can I have my friends over?" Mokuba pleaded. "I'll do anything!"

"No!" Gozabura bellowed, knocking Mokuba over in his uncalled-for rage. "Friends, friends, friends! It's always friends! What makes you so sure you can trust them?"

Stomping off, he slammed the front door, leaving Mokuba locked outside. He had just returned from school, and when his father had opened the door, he'd just asked. Moments later, Seto returned from school and sat on the front steps with crying Mokuba. 

"What's wrong, Mokuba?" he asked sympathetically, but Mokuba just kept sobbing, pushing Seto away when he tried to hug him. 

"I hate you!" Mokuba screamed, tears running down his cheeks. 

Just then, Seto had a great idea, and dragged him to the ice cream store nearby.

~

I don't really think giving Mokuba some ice cream will work… And he wasn't really angry with me anyway.

"Mokuba? Want some ice cream?"

"Ye-!" Mokuba cried excitedly, but his pride stopped him from speaking to his brother. Intending to teach Seto a lesson for ignoring him the other day, he resolved never to speak to him again. 

+++++

Azzie [if I can call you that]: Who likes Seto?~ XD So did you think Seto was kawaii in this chappie? ^_^

MOKUBAisMINE: Thanks for your support! And this chapter had lots of Mokuba… ^_^ 

Magical Silver Phoenix Tears: Hmm… Seto/Yugi… I don't think it's possible at this point of time, since Seto is just making friends… But in the near future?… ^_~ Hehe I want Yug to hear Yami calling back too… It's very soon, don't you worry… ^_^

Thanks everyone for reading and reviewing! Okay, now tell me whether this chapter was a stupid pointless waste of time… Because I'm thinking of doing a side-story on Bakura/Ryou soon… ^_^ Suggestions? 


	5. Okaeri

A/N: For this chapter, Yami Bakura is Bakura, and cute Hikari Bakura will be called Ryou. Obviously, when Ryou calls his yami, he means Bakura, not Atemu.

/…/Ryou to Bakura

…Bakura to Ryou

Caution: Slight Téa/Anzu bashing and yaoi…

Yu-Gi-Oh! is owned by Kazuki Takahashi. If I did…evil cackle

**Chapter 5: Okaeri**

_ "Bakura… Bakura…" Cold voices called his name in a monotone, sending shivers down his spine. He was in a dilapidated stone building in the ancient Egyptian Kai-Elna Village, the village of the bandits. There lay the souls of the people who had been sacrificed to save the warring nation—to create the seven Millennium Items, a Millennium Book of Magic had been deciphered, and ninety-nine humans had to be sacrificed. All this had been done by the government—the holders of the Millennium Items. _

_And now the dead wanted revenge against the pharaoh, Bakura was going to help them get it. Which was when everything had gone wrong. The fatal mistake that Bakura had made was try to negotiate with them, and they had attacked. Now he was bound in their icy grasps, no matter how he struggled or pleaded, they wouldn't let go. _

_"I've killed the pharaoh! So you've got your revenge!" Bakura screamed, clutching the Millennium Puzzle and Ring that hung round his neck. Barely hours ago he had acquired the Puzzle from Atemu, when they had faced off on a dangerously steep ledge. He had used his Spirit Monster to make the ground below Atemu collapse, seizing the opportunity to remove the sacred Puzzle from around his neck._

_"The Millennium Items…" the voices murmured eerily in the dim light of the building. "Destroy… destroy…destroy…"_

_"No!" Bakura insisted, "You've got your revenge! The Millennium Items are mine!"_

_Dark powers would be unlocked when the Millennium Items were put together on a stone structure set on the ground, and the controller of the power would be immortal. But the world would spiral into an endless darkness. _

_This was all wrong! Hidden deep in the recess of Bakura's mind was the faint memory that he had successfully had them attack Atemu, and not him. But they were getting closer, time was running out. He felt like he was being suffocated by the metaphysical forms that were engulfing him… Would Atemu actually outlive him? He had never felt so much hatred for the pharaoh before._

Gasping, Ryou sat bolt upright in bed, beads of sweat tricking down his forehead. The moon was shining through the window, casting a creepy glow on the tiled floor of his room. Rubbing his eyes, he wondered what exactly had woken him up. It could have been a nightmare, but he didn't remember a thing. There was nothing uncanny about the things in his room, but he couldn't help but feel a sort of fear nibbling at him from deep inside. He'd never felt comfortable about sleeping with the lights off, but having Bakura around made him feel slightly more secure. Despite his sinister appearance, he was actually rather kind, and cared a lot about his hikari.

Hikari, you okay?Bakura asked kindly, appearing out of nowhere, and seeing that Ryou was shivering slightly, slid his arm around the latter, who snuggled closer.

/Yami. I…/ Ryou trembled as his other half gave him a comforting hug, resting his chin on top of hikari's head. "Don't worry aibou… Go back to sleep, we have school tomorrow."

/Do you think Yugi and his yami were as close as we are?/ Ryou asked softly, leaning into the warm embrace of his yami.

Of course. Maybe closer… knowing that crazy pharaoh…

/Baku!/ Ryou laughed, feeling calmer that he had felt when he first awoke.

You said your friend Yugi can't talk to Yami, right?

/Yeah… Is there a way… we could help?/

If we could help him believe in pharaoh-sama again…

/We'll try tomorrow at school, 'kay?/

Ryou heard the front door shut—his museum-curator father had probably just returned home. And he could hear the muffled voices of his parents. Exchanging a look with his yami, Ryou pulled away, lay on his back pretending to be asleep, as Bakura vanished.

"…Bakura… is he okay…?" Ryou's ears pricked up as he heard his name mentioned. "…that necklace… still wears it?… not healthy for a boy his age to have no friends… he's always dreaming…"

Ryou knew his parents thought he was strange. And he used to have a box of wooden dolls hidden beneath his bed. Of course, he had gotten rid of them as soon as his parents had found out. Little did they know that at one point in time, souls had been imprisoned in those glassy-eyed things. It wasn't his fault that he was… different.

_Flashback_

_"Bakura! I'm back! And I've brought you a present!" Ryou's father announced to his twelve-year-old son. _

_"Dad! I missed you!" Ryou threw himself into his father's arms, and yelled, "I have a present?! Yay!!"_

_His father slipped the Millennium Ring over his head. "I got it from a store in Egypt. It's really rare—I hope you like it."_

_"Thanks dad! It's so cool!"_

_At that time, Ryou did not know that he had been chosen by the Ring, and that a dark spirit resided within it—the spirit of a bandit…_

_The next day, he wore the ring to school. And was beaten up, as usual._

_"Give me your money or else!" Kuro, the school bully, who was also the bane of Yugi's existence, yelled at Ryou._

_"No! My dad says I have to eat lunch!" he cried feeling braver than he had ever been before. _

_Launching a punch into his chest, Kuro laughed like a maniac, as Ryou's anguished cries filled his ears._

_The Millennium Ring glowed, shocking everyone present, and the psycho stopped in his tracks as Ryou stood up, possessed by Bakura._

_"Stop it!" the Bandit Lord of the Ring stepped towards the crazed bully, and took him by the collar of his shirt. _

_"That is the last time you are going to hurt anyone, especially my hikari!" Flinging the smaller boy down the corridor, there came another blinding flash of light, and Ryou reverted to his old self. _

"Morning!" Ryou greeted as he took his seat beside Yugi. It was to their luck that Tea, who used to sit beside Yugi kept interrupting the lesson with her oh-so-important opinions and by yapping away to her 'friends' (not including Yugi), so her punishment was to sit at the far corner of the classroom for the rest of the year, where Ryou used to sit. After the switch in places, Ryou found himself feeling less lonely, with Yugi and Kaiba to talk to. And watching Kaiba during math class was exceptionally interesting. He was very far ahead in math, so he usually used the time to play DMRPG. After a few weeks of obsession with DMRPG, the three had somewhat lost interest in it, even Kaiba, but of course everyone found it more interesting than school…

"Yugi… I…" Ryou stammered, wondering how he was going to bring up the subject of Yugi's Yami without wounding his feelings.

"What's up, Bakura?" Yugi asked.

"Um. Can you hear your yami yet?" Ryou blurted out, wondering whether he had done the right thing.

"No…" Yugi murmured sadly in disappointment.

"You know… the other Bakura… he said that maybe if you… _believed_ in Yami… with all your heart, it could work…"

"But… I _do_ believe in Yami with all my heart!" Yugi cried, impassioned, making a few heads turn.

Just then, the teacher arrived, ending their conversation.

/Yami… I believe in you… but why won't you speak to me?/ Yugi murmured unhappily to himself. /Unless you don't believe in me…/

Aibou… maybe you're not listening hard enough…a certain pharaoh replied softly.

_At Yugi's house after school_

_If Bakura can speak to his Yami, so can I. _

_/Yami!! Where are you?!! Why don't you hear me?! YAMIIII!!/_

Yugi screamed loudly in his mind, determined to hear at least a faint reply of "Aibou!" from Yami, but to no avail. It seemed that Yami was oblivious to him, no matter how loudly he yelled. Talking to Yami had been just like speaking to someone right beside him. Why wasn't Yami listening? Maybe he had been kind to Yugi only because they had to share the same body, and he'd felt obligated to protect Yugi, since he'd been the one who had assembled the Puzzle.

_/Yami, don't you care about me any more? Do you hate me? I know I'm weak, but… you were always so nice… You didn't scorn at me when I cried, like everyone does… I felt so strong when you were around, but now… I'm just a pathetic baka… The Puzzle gave me a true friend—and that true friend was you. But now… It's pointless to continue living… Maybe if I died I could be with you./_

Exhausted and teary-eyed, Yugi fell into a deep sleep, trying to forget all his troubles. Yami always knew how to console Yugi. He wouldn't usually say anything at first, but just let Yugi sob it all out on his shoulder.

_Yugi's memories [Excerpted from Episode 53]_

_Look, I don't care if I can't recover my lost memory. I want us to stay together forever._

_/I feel the same way, stay with me you can have my memory…/_

_Tears welled up in Yugi's eyes, and he looked down at the Millennium Puzzle in his hands, not wanting to meet the eyes of his yami, afraid that he would mock him like so many people had. He could hear their taunts vividly. "Cry! That's all you know!" "Are you a guy or not?" _

_To his surprise, Yami reached out and covered Yugi's hands with his. _

[The rest below was NOT excerpted from Ep. 53. ]

_Yugi leaned against Yami, hugging him tight. Yami gasped softly, but he pulled his hikari closer, sinking down onto the floor, realizing that Yugi wanted to be comforted. _

_/Yami… Boku wa…/_

_Yugi did not have to continue for Yami to know what he wanted to say, and the two embraced each other tighter. Neither had ever felt that way before… For the first time in his life, Yugi had felt that someone cared about him. _

_Hey aibou._

_/Yeah?_

_What're you doing these days?_

_/The usual… Oh yeah! I found a game to play, Duel Monsters RPG! I have a Kuriboh in there… _

_Cool! My spirit monster is also Kuriboh!_

_/Yami… I really miss you… I really really do… Why did you have to go back to Egypt?_

_Aibou… I'm sorry… But I don't belong in your world… I miss you a lot too._

_/Yami, how about if I go to Egypt to see you?_

_…If you could, I'd be really happy. Even if it was just for a day._

The next day was a Saturday, so Yugi did not have to go to school, but he and Bakura were being tutored by Kaiba-kun. The three were sitting on Yugi's bed, discussing the intricacies of calculus. [A/N: Me love math!! Doesn't everyone? Ahem.]

"Okay, so if you want to integrate y, just remember that you add one to the power of all the terms, add an x behind all the numbers with no x. Oh yeah, divide the numbers in front of the x by the power of the number." Kaiba explained patiently to Yugi and Bakura who didn't get it at all, despite the highly simplified explanation.

"Okie… add one to everything and then divide the front number…" Yugi muttered, subconsciously nibbling on the end of his pencil. "Argh!!" he cried in frustration when he saw that his and Kaiba's answers varied so much.

"Um… so you two still don't understand?" Kaiba asked, demoralized, wondering if his explanations were that bad. Mokuba also had problems understanding his explanations… He had explained the whole concept like at least five times, but it had been seriously ineffective. "Ah! Yugi! Do you have last year's textbook?"

Nodding, Yugi opened a drawer. He had dumped a lot of junk in that drawer over the years, so he knew he'd find lots of strange stuff in there. But thankfully, the wanted textbook was right on top of the stack, and he handed it to Kaiba, who turned to the chapter on algebra.

"Oh yeah… Notice anything different about Kaiba-kun today?" Bakura grinned, poking Yugi in the ribs.

Yugi turned and scrutinized him from top to toe, and started giggling too. Kaiba had retained his entire outfit, but it was short of the trench coat. Kaiba looked extremely different without his long trench coat.

"What?" he asked, feeling slightly embarrassed at their reactions. "Mokie spilled orange juice on me this morning. And he's still mad at me."

"Ya know, Kaiba, you actually look better without that coat," Bakura commented, making him blush slightly.

Changing the topic before it got any more embarrassing, Kaiba explained, "Okay. Yugi, you see your problem is that you always divide it wrong. You divided by the power before you added one. Bakura, you keep forgetting to divide the number in front…"

Flipping to the next page, the three gave a collective gasp, as a photograph of Yugi and Yami fell out.

_Flashback_

_So, this is a photo machine? The one that was mentioned in the magazine?Yami asked inquisitively. It was the first time he had gone out with Yugi, and it was a far more relaxing experience than being with talkative Tea. Obviously, having stayed in the Puzzle for three thousand years, he had lost touch with the world._

_/You can print out the picture on a piece of paper to keep. Cool, huh? It's grandpa's, he'll kill us if we break it./_

_Okay… Let's take a picture together!_

_Yami put his arm around his hikari, who grinned happily at him. It was so unexpected, but… Without any second thoughts, the usually shy Yugi wrapped his arms around Yami's waist. _

_Cool, it can copy a scene just like th—?/ Yami gaped in awe, but was interrupted by his light burying his face in his chest. Aibou…_

"Yami… I…" Unchecked tears trickled down Yugi's face, and for the first time in a long while, he cried hard. All his sadness and angst were channeled into these shiny beads of crystal. He sobbed about how nobody cared about him, and how he had been abandoned by his best friends. And he was still hurting, inside and out, from the anguish of Yami gone, and the physical and mental pain of his healing wounds from being beaten up by Joey, even when he was laughing with Bakura and Kaiba. He never forgot. Dashing across the room, tears streaking down his face, he saw Atemu's translucent form. Was he hallucinating? Or was his angst too great to bear?

Yugi fell right through Atemu, his heart free of all emotions but sorrow. He could taste the dust on the floor, smell its musty odor, but it did not bother him. The light that had shone so brightly and cheerfully had gone out, just like that.

_/Yami… you're really just a dream… You never were real…_

_Aibou, don't cry. Stand up!His darkness reached out and touched his shoulder gently. _

_/I… I can't…/ _

_Why? I'll help you._

At that very moment, Yugi could see the faint, translucent form of Yami standing beside him, and it wasn't Atemu. It was Yami, dressed in the blue school coat and black shirt, with a belt-like choker around his neck—the Yami that Yugi had longed for for what seemed like forever.

_Come on, aibou…_

Yugi choked back his sobs and took Yami's outstretched hand. Smiling his usual small smile, Yami pulled Yugi to his feet.

_That's my aibou…_

Flinging his arms around his darkness, Yugi realized his mistake—Yami had been by his side all the time, but had been kept in the darkest corner of his heart.

_Mou hitori no boku… Thank you for helping me recover my memories… Yami hugged Yugi back._

_/It… It was my destiny./ Hikari rest his head on Yami's shoulder._

Yugi straightened as he remembered that Bakura and Kaiba were watching, but all his doubts about Yami had vanished without a trace.

"Um, Yug?" Kaiba asked, concerned for his friend, and also bothered by the fact that Yugi was gazing into space. "Are… are you alright?"

Nodding tentatively, Yugi murmured, only audibly enough for himself to hear, "Bakura, you were right… All I had to do was believe."

The light that had gone out was ignited once more.

**POLL: DO YOU WANT DUEL MONSTERS RPG TO STAY IN OR GET OUT?**

Seriously, it's difficult to describe the whole game-playing aspect, even though I do play a lot of games. (especially on my PS2!) I'm beginning to think it's quite pointless, though I may bring it in once in a while.

Azzie: Thanks for reviewing!! I'm glad you like the characters even if they're sooo out of character! Great suggestion, I think I'll use it. Heh, Bakura's father would be so freaked by his son's obsession with spirits…

invisible-eyes: I don't think Seto and Moku will stay mad at each other for long, I couldn't stand making Mokuba mad at Seto in the first place… Thank you for reviewing!!

Okay, I'm getting reviews but not many. So I'm gonna bribe people to review… XD

FREE TRANSLATED MANGA SCAN OF THE LATEST YU-GI-OH! MANGA THAT I HAVE!! THAT'S A FEW PAGES FROM VOL. 36 IN ENGLISH FOR MY DEAR REVIEWERS!! POST YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS WITH YOUR REVIEW OR EMAIL ME tifachuhotmail.com 

A/N: Erm. A few clarifications. About "spirit monsters"… I don't really know what to call the monsters they summon in ancient Egypt, from manga vol. 32-36, I read the Chinese version (we don't get the English version in Singapore) and they call it "jīng líng shòu [精灵兽]" Also the name of the Bandit Village, it was called "kè lŭ aī ér nà cūn [克鲁・艾尔那村]" If anyone can tell me what the actual names are in Japanese or English, I'll appreciate it...


	6. Revelations

A/N: Bakura is Yami Bakura, normal Bakura is Ryou.

/…/ Hikari's thoughts

…Yami's thoughts

This chapter contains blood, gore, violence, suicide and slight shonen-ai so if you feel strongly against these, please do not read. This fanfic is not meant in any way to offend anyone.

**Yu-Gi-Oh is owned by Kazuki Takahashi.**

**Chapter 6: Revelations**

_So little Yugi-kun can hear Yami…_ Bakura was happy that Ryou was pleased about it.

_/Yeah… I'm glad for him. He's been a bit suicidal lately… I saw quite a few scars on his arms, but I didn't want to mention it…/_ Ryou replied, cringing at the thought of blood.

_—Flashback—_

"Yami, you don't care about me anymore!" Yugi cried, tears flowing down his cheeks like a dam unleashed. He was sitting at his desk, apparently doing his homework, but when he was alone in such ear-piercing silence, his mind would wander to the pharaoh without fail.

 "If you did care about me you wouldn't have gone away!!"

Aibou… Please don't cry!!Yami tried in vain to make his light listen, but to no avail.

"Say something, Yami!"

His misery taking over him, he reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a penknife.

Don't do anything rash!!Understanding Yugi's intentions, Yami hollered as loudly as he could, hoping with all his heart that hikari would listen for once. His other half could be very stubborn at times… 

Holding his breath, he neatly made three long cuts on his forearm, which started bleeding almost instantly. To his surprise, the pain was almost negligible. Lifting the blade to deepen the cuts, he realized that he was giggling. In pleasure. /Am I going crazy?/ he pondered for a moment, but shoved these thoughts to the back of his mind. More drops of red trickling down his left arm, he carved the Millennium Puzzle on his wrist. /What would Yami say if he saw?/

STOP!!Yami screamed through their mind link, feeling the almost intolerable pain on his left arm. Whatever his other self did affected him, too. If I could be over there… If that baka would just listen…he thought angrily.

/Yami… you don't know how I feel…/ Yugi mumbled inaudibly. It hadn't hurt at first, but now a wave of pain washed over him, making him feel rather nauseous.

/Am I going to die? Maybe I can see you then… I…/ Everything went white.

Over in Egypt, Yami had passed out with the intense pain. Nobody there knew about his links with the present, nobody knew about the strong—almost unbreakable—bonds light and darkness shared.

"Pharaoh Atemu!" His advisors dumped him onto a stretcher made out of loincloths, and sent him to the palace shaman. [A/N: Are there stretchers in ancient Egypt? ]

When Yugi came to, he felt like he was paralyzed in the left arm. Strolling as nonchalantly as he could to the bathroom so as to not attract too much attention, he washed all the coppery liquid off his arm, wincing a little, wrapped a bandage tightly around the deep gashes, and returned to his room to continue his homework.

/That felt nice… Maybe I'll do it again…?/

—

"Bakura? You home yet?" The front door shut—it was nine in the evening, and his father had just finished his work at the museum, and his mother had returned from her research at the asylum.

"Yeah! Dinner's on the table dad!" Ryou yelled back from his room, a little too enthusiastically.

His parents always wanted him home extra early—he had gotten back at six once, and received a huge scolding for it. Not that they knew when he got back, though they'd call home once in a while to check up on him. Ryou grew to resent this, he envied Yugi and the others who could freely hang out. His parents wanted him to be sociable, yet they forbade him to go out with his friends without reason. And only very infrequently. Unless it was for a study session. This annoyed him a bit, but he learned not to mind. After all, he had Bakura, who was worth ten fair-weathered friends. Yugi and Kaiba didn't really hang out outside of school, the former had just been too disturbed, and the latter had a large company to run as well as look after Mokuba, so there hadn't been any embarrassing explanations. He did enjoy having them as friends.

However, he knew why his parents were so overprotective. They had never admitted it to his face, but he'd been almost run down by a speeding vehicle when he was little. That and the fact that he had kept a box of wooden dolls under his bed… This knowledge he had learned by listening to his parent's late-night conversations… His mom, being a psychologist, had tried to counsel him, and he usually went along with it, pretending it was a normal conversation.  All in all, his relationship with his parents was better than most teenagers', it was polite, but not really close.   

—Flashback—

Hmm. I can play a shadow game with the baka pharaoh in the museum, everything I need is there too…

"Dad, can I um… borrow the room at the back of the museum? For a party with my friends?" Bakura asked as politely as he could, in his light's usual manner.

"Can't you have the party at home?"

"Uh… It's kinda small here? And we don't want to mess things up?"

"Well. Okay then… If you really want to… You mustn't mess things up over there. But I know I can trust you, my boy."

Hehe now the pharaoh's going to die!! My plan is working out so well!Bakura thought to himself.

/No stop, other self!! I won't let you kill the pharaoh, because his aibou is one of my best friends!!/ Ryou interrupted.

You!! Don't go around ruining my plans!

"Dad, it's okay… We can go to the fast food restaurant instead of hold a party," Ryou convinced his father that the artifacts in the museum were too expensive to hold a party around.

"Alright then…" his father agreed, albeit quite confused with his son's sudden change in attitude.

Ryou what are you doing!?Bakura flung his hikari against the wall when his father was gone.

/I won't let you hurt my friends!!/

Am I not your friend?

/Yes but…/ Ryou was at a loss for words, not wanting to hurt his yami's feelings. But apparently his yami didn't feel the same way, and kicked him in the stomach.

Now I have to hypnotize your father!!

/I can't let you hurt my dad!!/ Ryou stood in the doorway, rare anger on his face.

Oh, shut up. Get out of the way!!Bakura flung Ryou backwards, and the already injured light started crying.

/I… I don't want you to be my yami anymore!/

The ruthless thief began his hunt for Ryou's father.

Now we can kill that pha—Bakura cackled sadistically on his return, then saw that his other half was knocked unconscious, a trail of blood on his forehead. Hikari!! I… I'm sorry!!

Running to the bathroom, Bakura dampened a cloth and wiped away the red on his other half's face, trying fervently to stop the bleeding. The crimson drops trickled down Ryou's forehead, and fell onto Bakura's lap.

I can't believe I did this to my own hikari… I'm sorry… Bakura pleaded, knowing that it could be a tad too late. Realizing that what he was doing was ineffective, he lifted the Millennium Ring, and used its powers to try and stop the persistent bleeding. It could fail, and make it even worse, which was why Bakura had initially refused to use the Ring.

Ryou opened his eyes, wondering why he felt so ill, yet sort of comfortable. Seeing he was lying on his yami's lap, he drew back in fear.

Hikari, I'm sorry for what I did. I really am. Please forgive me… But I… have to kill the pharaoh. Or I'll lose my soul—

/Of course I forgive you./

--

Ryou? Your dad is being wayyy too quiet…

/Come to think of it, you're right Bakura…/

But then we're being too quiet ourselves…Bakura tightened his arms around his hikari's shoulders, smiling slightly… 

—

"Hey you guys!" Yugi said brightly, smiling so hard that his face almost cracked.

Aibou, your friends are gonna think you're crazy…

/Hehe, who cares?! You're back!!/ 

"Tell you something! Yami is back!!" Yugi announced, beaming his face off.

"That's great Yugi!" Kaiba grinned. "That Yami guy… Where's he?"

Glancing at Yugi's left wrist instinctively, Ryou whispered, "Are you sure telling Kaiba is a good idea? What if he wants to duel Yami again?" 

What is Seto Kaiba doing eating lunch with you?! And Bakura!? The King of Thieves?!!Yami glared suspiciously around, his eyes seeing Domino High and Egypt at the same time.

/Oh… They're my friends!/ Yugi informed Yami.

What happened to Jounouchi-kun?!Yami inquired, but yielded no reply, only an uncomfortable silence.  

Yami appeared out of thin air, and to his amusement, Kaiba went over to him, reached for his hand, and slipped the new Duel Disk onto his left arm. Thankfully, the cuts had healed, thanks to the shamans.

"Duel me? Please?" Kaiba asked hopefully.

What is with this guy?!

/Um. Maybe dueling with you changed him… Anyway, he wants to duel you… I'll explain everything later, 'kay?/

"Okay!!" Yami replied, smirking. It had been quite a long time since he'd dueled Kaiba. "Let's duel!"

Dueling was all the ancient spirit lived for. He never admitted it, but he enjoyed the risk involved in gaming; how his heart hammered in his chest when he reached out to pull a card from his deck, it was all such a surreal experience, and he did not usually remember the minute details after it was all over.

Looking in front of him, a holographic list of cards appeared in front of Yami, he chose his deck.

Fishing out his Blue-Eyes card, Kaiba said, "Lets do this in DMRPG!"

Yugi handed Yami his card, Ryou activated the game, and the group appeared in the Egyptian palace, where Yami [in reality] was sitting on his throne. Gaping in awe at his surroundings, Yami commented, "Not bad, Seto."

"Thank you." Kaiba replied, slightly sarcastically. Yugi he did not mind, since the guy was so cute, but this arrogant pharaoh he had to defeat.

The two drew five cards each, and Kaiba started first with the toss of a gold coin in Egyptian currency.

"Summon Lord of Dragons—Dragon Ruler! And I activate a Spell card, Graceful Charity! Equip the Dragon Summoning Flute, and Special Summon two Blue Eyes from my hand! End turn."

"Okay, my turn! I set two cards, and summon Alpha the Magnet Warrior! Attack Lord of Dragons!" Yami announced. "Lord of Dragons destroyed!"

"I set a monster in defense position. Blue Eyes attack!" Kaiba yelled.

"Activate trap! Magic Cylinder!" Yugi countered by using a trap card.

Kaiba's LP decreased to 4800. Cursing, he muttered, "End turn."

"Okay, I set another card face down in the Trap/Spell card zone, and summon Beta the Magnet Warrior. End turn!"

"Yugi prepare to lose! Flip Summon Kaiser Seahorse, which counts as two monsters when sacrificed for a Light main-type monster! Tribute Summon my third Blue-Eyes, activate Spell card Polymerization to Fusion Summon Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon!"

Yami gasped, he hadn't seen BEUD in such a long time, he began to feel a bit apprehensive. Could he still defeat that monster?

"Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon attack Alpha the Magnet Warrior! And set a card."

Reeling back in shock, Yami didn't know how to react. None of the cards he had set could help him. Yami's LP/4900, Kaiba's LP/4800.

Drawing, Yami brightened as he saw that he had drawn Change of Heart. "Activate Spell card, Change of Heart! I take control of Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon!"

"Sorry Yugi! Activate Magic Jammer!"

"Argh! Okay then, activate counter trap, Seven tools of the Bandit!" Yami's LP decreased by 1000, and Magic Jammer was negated and destroyed. "Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon, direct attack Kaiba!"

Yami's LP/3900, Kaiba's LP/300.

"I'm not gonna lose to you, pharaoh!" Kaiba was annoyed that Yami had knocked off 4500 of his LP just like that. "Tempest! All cards in the Spell/Trap zones of both players are sent to the graveyard! I set a card! End turn."

"Activate Raigeki! BEUD destroyed! Activate another spell card, Monster Reborn to revive Beta the Magnet Warrior! And I sacrifice Alpha, Beta and Gamma from my hand to summon Valkyrion the Magnet Warrior! Attack!"

Flipping over a trap card, Kaiba cried, "Activate Negate Attack!"

"Okayyy… End turn, then." Yami grumbled.

"My turn!" Kaiba activated a Ritual Spell card and summoned Relinquished, using its effect to copy Valkyrion's attack and defense. [A/3500, D/3850] Valkyrion then became an equip spell card on Kaiba's side of the field. "Relinquished attack!!"

Yami/400, Kaiba/300.

Triumphantly, Kaiba said, "See I told you I'd beat you once and for all!!"

"Don't be so sure!" came the reply. "Activate spell card Deck Destruction Virus of Death, all monsters on the opponent's side of the field with an attack of more than 1500 destroyed! All monsters above 1500 attack that the opponent draws for 3 turns are destroyed too!! Summon Kuriboh, to attack the player directly!!"

Kaiba's LP decreased by 300, resulting in Yami's victory.

"Yes! See I told you I was the King of Games?!" Yami hopped around in glee, glad that he hadn't lost to Kaiba, his all time rival. Expecting Kaiba to be sore though, he said comfortingly, " I was just lucky…"

"Yeah… Hm. It's okay… That was fun!" Kaiba laughed at Yami's expression.

"You surprise me all the time!" Yami returned Kaiba's grins.

Kaiba's acting nice!Yami frowned, slightly shaken by his rival's new attitude.

/He IS nice…/

I'll bet he wants something from you… Better be careful.

/Yami! We shouldn't doubt his sincerity! And get your mind out of the gutter!/

He has his little brother though…

/Yami! Maybe he likes you…/

Aibou!

Hikari? Why are the pharaoh and high priest skipping around like a couple of schoolgirls?Bakura asked Ryou, amused.

/Don't know… Maybe they're just happy to see each other after such a long time?/ Ryou quipped.

The pharaoh and the high priest…Bakura sang, making Ryou roll his eyes. 

—

/Yami… I'm really really glad you're back./

I know!

/Yami! Don't tease!/

Seriously… I'm glad you can hear me.

/Yeah./

You cut yourself because of me. You shouldn't have.Yami took Yugi's hand and examined the scars, comparing them with his.

/I'm sorry… I know you could feel it./ Yugi looked solemnly at his wounds.

Promise you'll never do that again.

/Okay, if you give me a hug./

WHAT?!Yami blushed a fiery crimson, feeling really awkward.

/Just kidding…/ Yugi giggled, Yami pulled him closer anyway, and his light rest his head against his shoulder.

You know something? This feels really nice… Better than you cutting yourself.

/Yeah…/ Yugi realized that Yami could read all his thoughts like an open book. /Yami, how do you read my mind?/

I just listen.Yami explained with a smile. And you don't really block your thoughts from me…

/There's nothing to block…/ Yugi thought to himself, /He's so cute when he smiles like that./

See, you just blocked a thought from me! What were you thinking…?Yami raised an eyebrow at his hikari.

/Huh? Nothing!!/ Yugi said as innocently as he could.

Anyway all I wanted to say was that we can switch bodies, you can go to Egypt for a bit and be the boring old pharaoh, and I'll be in Domino City doing your homework for you…

/REALLY?! Cool!! Please can we?/

**—End Chapter 6—**

A/N: Quite a stupid pointless chapter to serve as the basis for the next… Hope you guys like it… And YES!! MY BRIBE WORKED!! 5 REVIEWS!! And for the duel between Seto and Yami, I'm not sure whether Deck Destruction Virus of Death is in the TCG yet [don't complain that it doesn't exist, 'k? 'Cause it does, in the Japanese Kaiba 2 Structure Deck. ] In case you were wondering, I play the Japanese card game because it's cheaper and tournament-usable unlike the Asia-English cards…  Thanks everyone for reading and reviewing!!

**POLL: HOW WOULD YOU REACT IF SETO GOT MAD AT YUGI AND RYOU?** [In the end their conflict will be resolved though, as will the fight between Seto and Mokuba…]

And… The bribe stays…

**FREE TRANSLATED MANGA SCAN OF THE LATEST YU-GI-OH! MANGA THAT I HAVE!! THAT'S A FEW PAGES FROM VOL. 36 IN ENGLISH FOR MY DEAR REVIEWERS!! POST YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS WITH YOUR REVIEW! [I STILL HAVEN'T GOT BOOK 37!! --]**

invisible-eyes: Yeah… Finally!  I was practically dying to write that part where Yami and Yugi were reunited, it was initially planned for chapter 4, but Yugi didn't seem… desperate enough… Yeah I know I'm a sadist…

Azzie: Thanks for the info, I'll be using it quite frequently in the next few chapters…  

ladysuger: Thanks for your input, give me your email if you want manga scans…

Peter Kim: Hmm… Pegasus… That's an idea, but I don't really know how to work it in for this fic yet… But I did put in Relinquished!! Love that card! But my current fave is Deck Destruction Virus of Death. Please give me your email if you want translated manga scans…

Yami Tangela, pharaohs angel: Well here's the update, and thanks for your encouragement!


	7. Pharaoh Yugi and Yami Mutou

/…/ Hikari

… Yami

**Téa/Anzu bashing. Be warned!! XD **

**Everything Yu-Gi-Oh! is owned and copyrighted by Kazuki Takahashi. **

Chapter 7: Pharaoh Yugi-sama and Yami Mutou 

A vast sea of people extended to infinity before the pharaoh, who was clothed in a white sleeveless shirt and blue cape, his head adorned with a band of pure gold in the shape of the Eye of Ujat, the bangs of his tri-coloured hair cascading over it.

_/What in Domino City am I supposed to do?/ _the pharaoh panicked at the sight of the crowd, he had never been the center of the attention of such a huge crowd in his life. It seemed like every eye in Egypt was scrutinizing his every movement, waiting for him to make a mistake. To his relief, he wasn't exactly alone—a man who looked exactly like his grandfather was by his side.

_/Grandpa?! What's he doing here?! /_ the "pharaoh" shrieked through the mind link.

_ Oh, that's my advisor… He's quite a nice guy, exactly like grandpa. _ came an amused reply.

_/ What are all those people doing here?! /_

_ Don't worry about it… It's a celebration of the pharaoh's birthday. You sure chose the right time to switch bodies with me…_ Yami laughed at his aibou's awkwardness, glad to an extent that it was his aibou who had to deal with all the mollycoddling. Neither enjoyed having so much attention dumped on top of their spiky heads.

_/Yami? You didn't tell me it was your birthday! / _Yugi said dismally.__

_ I didn't think it'd really matter…   _

_/Yes it does!! Happy birthday Yami!/_

_ Thanks. Now I have to get back to doing your homework. Just yell if you get into trouble. _

Squirming uncomfortably in his seat, Yugi felt a tad taller than he'd been, which pleased him. The vertically challenged hikari in the pharaoh's body had always desired to be taller. His height had been the bane of his existence ever since he was ten; everyone but him seemed to grow, and Jounouchi-kun especially enjoyed taking advantage of this weakness of his. _Now if I could just borrow Yami's height permanently… I'll never get beaten up again.  _

A handful of gold dust raining on him jolted his back to reality, and he looked around, wide-eyed, at the robed priests chanting arcane blessings. Recognizing Kaiba and Ishizu, and a girl who looked like the Dark Magician Girl, he heard a voice telling him to stand up. He did a double take as he found that he could understand everything that was being said—in ancient Egyptian! But when "grandpa" told him to summon his Ba, Kuriboh, he knew he was in trouble. He had absolutely no idea how to summon it.

_/Yami! How do you summon a Ba?!/ _the light panicked, drops of sweat forming on his forehead.__

_ Oh, I forgot about that part in the ceremony! You can understand everything that they're saying?_

_/Yes…/_

_ Just relax and think about Kuriboh, it'll be summoned. You know, even if I never ever learned the math you're learning, I know exactly how to do your homework. We switched bodies, but my abilities as pharaoh are still in Egypt, and yours are still here._

_/I'll try… /_

Shutting his eyes, Yugi concentrated on Kuriboh, and wondered whether it would really work. Astonished gasps filled the large compound, and the temporary pharaoh cracked one eye open in anticipation.

Dark Magician, clad in its traditional purple armor and staff, appeared before his eyes.

_/Oh no… What did I do wrong…/_ Yugi watched nervously as the girl who looked like the Dark Magician Girl moved towards him.

_ Aibou? _ Yami began, seeing Egypt at the back of his mind, and glanced at the Dark Magician, conveniently leaving out the fact that he had already died quite a few months back. _ Don't worry. The Dark Magician guy's just there to help. He's actually one of the priests in charge of summoning the Ka and Ba.   _

Having the Dark Magician around somehow filled Yugi with courage, and he no longer felt jumpy. Attempting to summon Kuriboh once more, he confidently spoke a few lines of an Egyptian that burned through his mind, and a brown fur ball with eyes the same shade of amethyst as its summoner leaped into his arms. _Kuri!!_

The little light released the breath he didn't know he'd been holding, and a big smile lit up his face like a Christmas tree.

_/Yami… I did it! /_ he cried joyfully.

_ Great! _ Yami congratulated, and muttered, _ Now all you have to do is get through the rest of that embarrassing celebration!!_

Yugi caught what Yami's thoughts, and was beginning to suspect that Yami had used his aibou to skip the whole thing, but it wasn't like he minded. It was great being honored for once, instead of being trodden underfoot.

_Yami is so lucky to be the pharaoh, he'd said it was boring and quite a chore, but I think it's quite fun. And it's nice being tall and sounding so cool. But somehow I miss Domino City. Especially Kaiba and Bakura. This place is so formal, and it sure looks like you can't have fun being the pharaoh. I'm glad that the switch is just for a day… _

_—_

Finishing up Yugi's homework, Yami stretched and yawned widely. It was only one in the afternoon, and the homework hadn't been too tough, considering that his aibou was usually all ears when it came to schoolwork. _This is so relaxing. I wonder if Yugi's having fun. He said he didn't like being here, but it isn't all that bad. _

A soft voice gently skittered across his mind. _/Yami, I'm sorry I forgot to tell you, but I'm supposed to meet Kaiba at his house at two, he wanted to show me and Bakura something./_

_ I'll be there. _Yami assured.

_I wonder what exactly Seto wants to show Yugi and Bakura. It's not like him to want to be friends with my aibou, last I saw him he was all insults and criticism. He's a great duelist, but not really a friend. _

Lazing about until it was almost one forty-five, Yami remembered that Kaiba's house wasn't quite a stone's throw away—it would take at least twenty minutes to get there, he might make it on time if he ran. Throwing on his blue jacket, he ran downstairs, tripping over the last few steps due to Yugi's shorter legs. "Ow!"

Groaning, he picked himself up and rubbed his chin, having fallen flat on his face, and felt a sharp pain in his ankle as he tried to walk. Ignoring it and continuing his walk to Kaiba's house, he called out to his partner,

_ Don't blame me if anything goes wrong. _

_/Why do you say that? Does this ceremony include and back carving or anything that hurts?/_

_ I don't think so. You having fun? _

_/Kind of…/_

Yugi didn't really show his excitement or anything, but Yami knew that his hikari _was_ enjoying himself. If anything, it would help him forget all his troubles, and hopefully he wouldn't cut himself again.

—

Yami plopped down on the swivel chair beside Kaiba and Ryou, and peered at the glowing computer monitor, trying not to look impressed as his rival opened the DMRPG program, and the three appeared in the virtual world. The same old Egyptian palace that Yami was intimately familiar with had replaced the office.

"Yugi, can you ask Yami whether it looks exactly like the real thing?"

_Why is he calling me Yugi? _Yami pondered for a moment, then remembered that he was in Yugi's body.

"Um, yeah it does," Yami replied in Yugi's relatively high-pitched voice. Shocked at how different he sounded, Yami tried to lower his pitch until he sounded like himself. Obviously, this did not go well, and led to Kaiba inquiring whether he had a sore throat.

"But the stone walls are a bit sandier, what do you think?" Yami suggested in his little light's polite, tactful manner. "Anyway, how's Mokuba doing?"

Having been filled in about Kaiba and Mokuba's quarrel, Yami had been instructed to ask about it and hopefully solve the problem between the two brothers. However Yami wasn't the patient sort like Yugi was, and when Kaiba started talking about his little brother, he didn't quite know what to say.

"Mokuba's still angry with me, and when I tried to apologize, he just pretended that I was invisible." Kaiba groused. "He hasn't talked to me in weeks."

Stifling a giggle, Yami replied, "Maybe it's just a phase that he's going through…"

_Kaiba apologizing? No way!!_

Kaiba looked truly upset, and the pharaoh felt sympathy coursing through his veins. This was a side of Kaiba he'd never seen before, but he knew that he cared about his brother very much. At that point in time, he saw not Kaiba from Domino but Seto from Egypt sitting beside him, the Seto that had fallen for Kisara, the girl with the Blue Eyes White Dragon. Kaiba had somehow changed—he had crossed the huge abyss that had once separated him from Yugi and his friends. And quite a large part of it was due to Mokuba.

"Maybe we could try forcing him to talk to you?" Yami suggested. It wasn't something that Yugi would suggest, and the darkness usually had weird ideas, but they sometimes worked.

"What do you mean, _force_ him to talk to me?" Kaiba looked beseechingly at Yugi/Yami.

"We tease him until he gets fed up, and starts crying, then you play the good guy and calm him down."

All of a sudden, Ryou started laughing his head off, and quipped, "Good one, Pharaoh-sama!!"

This caught Yami by surprise—Ryou could actually tell that Yugi and Yami had actually switched? "Yugi, you shouldn't listen to your yami too much, you know," Ryou continued. "But this _could_ work!"

"So go make Mokuba mad for a while, I'll be up here, tinkering with the computer," Kaiba said, his spirits soaring to new heights at the prospect of being reunited with his brother. "I think he's playing the Playstation downstairs."

Heading downstairs, Yami leading the way, Ryou seized the opportunity to speak to Yami alone. "You're not Yugi, right? You're Atemu."

"So you _do_ know?" Yami was taken aback at his friend's observation.

"Actually Bakura was the one who sensed that something weird was going on in Egypt. He said the pharaoh was acting weird, too shy to be Pharaoh Atemu."

"So should we tell Kaiba?" Yami wondered aloud.

"No… I don't think so. It might make things a bit messier. But he does know about his past in Egypt," Ryou replied.

"Let's go make Mokuba angry with us then."

"Are you sure it's a good idea?"

"I'm sure of it."

"Hi Mokuba!" Ryou greeted overly enthusiastically. "Do you mind if we play with you a while?"

Ignoring them, Mokuba rolled his eyes and turned away, but was now facing an extremely persistent Yami who was sitting on the other side of the twelve-year-old.

"What are you playing? Chaos Legion?" Yami questioned. "I can help you get past that part where you're stuck…"

Silence.

Reaching for the controller, Ryou gave Yami a sly grin, and commented, "Don't worry, we'll help you get past this boss, we're pretty good."

Mokuba looked at them as if they were a bunch of psychos, and tried to escape from the clutches of the two, but with Yami and Ryou and the controller cable blocking all exits, he was stuck there for the moment.

Ryou pressed all the buttons on the controller simultaneously, and made no effort to dodge the antagonist's attacks, obviously he lost. Yami, the king of games, shut his eyes and kept pressing the buttons stupidly, even though in his mind he knew exactly what was happening onscreen. For the first time, he was defeated in a game, but it had been of his own will.

Mokuba made as if to grab the controller back, but Yami held it out of reach, trying not to laugh. "You can play when I defeat the boss, alright?"

For about three hours Mokuba sat squashed between the two boys, who kept dying in the game like flies. Soon Ryou could tell that he was _really_ frustrated, since he was frowning his face off. Finally the teasing had gone far enough, and Mokuba's patience had worn thinner than ice.

Standing up, he yelled for his oniisan, "Big brother!!"

Kaiba, who had been sitting in his study, absorbed in his work, perked up when he heard something he hadn't heard for quite a while. "What Mokuba?" he inquired, standing at the bottom of the stairs. "You've been playing with Yugi and Bakura?"

Yami and Ryou gave the most innocent looks they could muster, and reported, "Yeah, it was fun playing with Mokuba."

Running to the safety of his big brother, Mokuba cried in one breath, "They didn't let me play!! They kept losing and they said they were good!!"

"Don't worry Mokuba, I'm here, you don't have to be afraid of the two bad boys." Kaiba bit his lip to keep himself from laughing out loud. To Yami and Ryou, he said fake-coolly, "I wanna talk to you two."

"Scold 'em bad, big brother!" Mokuba encouraged enthusiastically.

"Pharaoh Atemu, it's now time for the ritual to ensure your good health in the next year," a soft voice interrupted his thoughts.

_/Téa!!/ _His heart leaped as he saw the girl he had once liked a bit, but recollected that the new Téa had been quite mean recently. _/Will this Téa be nice, like she was last time?/_

—Flashback—

The sun was setting in Domino City, turning the sky a beautiful mixture of cherry, azure, purple, and crimson. Yugi pushed all thoughts that surfaced to the back of his mind. Most people thought he was just a pure, innocent teen, but he was much more than that. He cared for his friends—a trait that was now extremely rare in modern society. But his major flaws were that he got depressed very easily, and didn't really treasure life. Even now that Yami was around. He wasn't lonely, he had Yami, Bakura, and Kaiba—he just wanted some peace and quiet away from everything.

He felt a hard kick to his chest, but it didn't really faze him. After all, he'd gotten used to it all. Looking up, expecting Joey to shout out some taunts about his ex-best friend, his gaze fell upon a girl.

Téa.

He used to think of her as an understanding, compassionate girl who was a little—just a very little bit—cute, but seeing her in front of him made him feel ill. Her face thickly daubed with makeup, and green contacts in her eyes, her hair dyed blonde and tied in three ponytails, she was anything but cute. This was so not Téa. Now she was a horrid girl who used all her free time to make herself up and fling herself at boys.  [A/N: Eww!! Icky Téa!!]

Feeling rare hatred, Yugi stood up, strengthened by his Yami inside his mind, and asked, "What's up, Téa?"

"I overheard that Yami's back." Téa began. "Where's he?"

"So you're saying that you remember everything about what happened… last time? But I asked you, and you said you didn't know anything."

"I do remember. So where's that cute Yami?"

"What do you want with my Yami?" Yugi challenged confidently.

/Yami? Do you want to talk to her?/

Of course not. I hate her—she was always clinging to me and whining about friendship. But…

"_Your_ Yami? Forget it, he's _mine_," Téa snapped nastily.

Yami appeared beside his hikari. "What do you want with me, Téa?"

Throwing herself at Yami, she wrapped him in a tight embrace, and planted an overly-passionate kiss on his lips. [A/N: Get her away!! Yami fangirls look on in disgust]

Stumbling backwards, Yami shoved her away before she could damage him any further. "Téa, stop!!"

"Yamiiiiii…" she moaned. "I loooovveee you!"

"As if!!" Yami countered. "Yugi told me you say that to any random guy on the street."

"I know you love me too…" Téa insisted, her voice dripping with sweetness.

"I never thought I'd have to do this to you," Yami rolled his eyes sarcastically, and used his shadow powers to send her to the Shadow Realm with no regrets. [A/N: Yay!! XD]

Following the Egyptian Téa nervously, Yugi entered a room which was entirely of marble—the floor, walls, and ceiling were all of the same pearly-white marble. In the center of the room, on a structure that was of exactly the same material as the walls, lay a large amethyst the exact colour of his eyes.

He looked at her and she nodded. Touching the jewel, he felt a jolt of electricity flow through his body, and when he regained his senses a few seconds later, he saw that the marble surroundings were all gone, and he was standing in a void. Everything around him was a smoky purple-black.

"Now I've got you, Pharaoh Atemu!!" Téa's voice echoed around Yugi, and he instinctively covered his ears to block out her evil cackles.

—End of chapter—

A/N: Hope you guys liked this chapter, but describing Egypt is a bit difficult. I wonder whether anyone will complain about the Téa/Anzu bashing… I'm quite unsure about the direction this fic is taking, [I know what's going to happen next, but I still need more inspiration!!] so please review…  

**POLL: DOES ANYONE LIKE TéA/ANZU? AND WHO IS YOUR FAVOURITE CHARACTER? **

**MORE FREE MANGA SCANS!!**

invisible-eyes: Yugi does like Yami very much, and vice versa… hint I wasn't very sure if anyone would be able to understand the duel, glad you did. Yeah, Yami and Bakura would be mad at Kaiba if he got mad at their hikaris… Thanks for reviewing!

Yami tangela, pharaohs angel: Yay! Someone liked the body-switching twist!! Thanks for your input!

Azzie: Hehe sugar is good… I'm sure Seto is getting plenty of sugar too! That's why he's all friendly with the others… Thank you for reviewing!


	8. The Soul of the Duelist

**Yu-Gi-Oh! is owned by Kazuki Takahashi.**

**More Anzu/Tea bashing, slight shonen-ai.**

Chapter 8: The Soul of the Duelist 

All was silent in the dilapidated village of Kuru'elna. A brunette girl dressed in a black robe stood before a stone tablet with only one spherical groove in it, an amethyst in her hands. Bending to place the precious stone in the slot that fit it exactly, she muttered silently, "Akunadin-sama… I have successfully captured the pharaoh's spirit."

Almost instantly, the surroundings were shroud in complete darkness, as if the spirit of Akunadin was responding, and an eerie purple glow resonated from deep within the jewel. The pharaoh's body lay slumped in a corner of the small room, but it was just an empty, soulless shell. A thick mist formed, diffusing into the boy's skin, Atemu seemed to stir.

-

Pulling himself to his feet, Yugi wondered whether he was alive. For one thing, he felt alive, but he couldn't see a thing. /_Is this what death feels like?/ _he wondered_._ The last thing he remembered was Tea's evil cackles, and even then he'd been able to see. Feeling strange because of the loss of his senses for the time being, he tried out his voice, "Is anyone there?"

Jumping as he heard his own quiet voice ring in his ears, it occurred to him that maybe he _was_ alone in that hellhole. How afraid he sounded, so young and pitiful—he felt sickened by his timidity. But there was something quite different about his voice—the slightly lower pitch. He'd heard it so many times but he couldn't tell where he'd heard it before.

_/Yami!/ _the hikari suddenly recalled that he'd switched bodies with his Yami. _/Mou hitori no boku? What's going on now?/_

There was no reply from his darkness, it was like they were really separated from each other _permanently _now_._ Yugi had never felt this empty in his life, even when Yugi's mind wasn't open to Yami's voice. _/Why does this always happen to me? I know that Yami is real, I believe in him. But why?/_

Shutting his eyes, Yugi appeared in his soul room, and reached to turn the doorknob that led to the dim corridor between his soul room and his yami's. No matter what he did, it wouldn't budge—he was locked inside with his own very muddled thoughts.

Taking a deep breath, screaming for his mou hitori no boku, he wondered if Tea had anything to do with it—this had all begun when he'd touched the purple gem. This couldn't be part of the pharaoh's birthday celebration, Yugi was sure that no custom would ever include scaring the person having the birthday. It was much too twisted to be true. But at least staying in his soul room was tons better than sitting in the stone-cold darkness.

Forcing himself to be brave, Yugi smiled to himself as he picked up his Kuriboh plushie and sat down on the floor, hugging it delightedly. A smile lit up his face, but his thoughts nagged at him from the back of his mind.

_/Why am I stuck in a dark, vast abyss? And I can't even speak to Yami, I'm locked in here./_

There came a sharp knock on the metal door of his soul room, and Yami's muffled voice wafted in from outside. _Aibou! Is everything okay?         _

Yugi could hear Yami banging on the door and turning the doorknob in frustration, and he yelled, _/Yami! I'm stuc-!!/_

Pondering whether Yami heard him, he felt two clammy, icy hands on his shoulders. Reeling back in shock, he turned to face the person.  She was truly death incarnate. 

The Egyptian Tea was back, and she clapped her hand tightly over his mouth, preventing him from screaming.

"You will sacrifice yourself for my master."

_/Pharaoh Atemu?/ _his eyes widened in surprise, and realized that she had access only to his soul room because he'd been in Atemu's body.

"No I won't! What do you want with me?" Yugi questioned, feeling his knees tremble slightly.

"I am Akushiko—The Emissary of Obliteration. My master is Akunadin-sama." Tea explained coolly. "Because of you and your cursed high priests, my master has been destroyed in the light. And now, you will pay, Pharaoh."  

/I can't let her know that I'm not the pharaoh. If she finds out, Yami'll be in trouble! And then who knows what will happen./

Yugi inquired further, "So what has your revenge got to do with me?"

Akushiko rolled her eyes impatiently, "You have no idea how important you are. Right now, your body is being possessed by Akunadin's spirit, and he will sow discord between the high priests, throwing the world into darkness once more. As for your soul… Since it has nowhere to go, I'll put it to use in a ritual that will grant me eternal life forever—then Akunadin-sama and I will rule the world forever."

-

Yami tried to concentrate on the television program he was watching—it was some kind of animé called Saiyuki—but his mind couldn't help but wander to his aibou. He'd tried the door to Yugi's soul room earlier, but it was shut tight. Was Yugi mad at him for some reason? Deep down, though, he knew that Yugi would never be angry with him. Somehow, his unease turned into panic, and he wondered whether he was being paranoid. And all of a sudden he felt really silly. Why was he sitting comfortably at home when Yugi could be in trouble?

Leaping up from the couch, the darkness felt strong feelings of concern and worry that he had not felt inside him before. Sprinting with all his might to Kaiba's mansion, trying not to fall over on the way, a thousand emotions filled his mind and heart. If Yugi's life was endangered, he'd never forgive himself.

I don't know what to do. Please be alright, my hikari…

-Flashback [Excerpted from manga Vol. 34: Duel 280]-

A flash of bright light emanated from within the Millennium Puzzle, and Yami saw his aibou sleeping. He looks so peaceful, so cute…

/Mou hitori no boku./ Yugi opened his eyes to see Yami sitting cross-legged on the desk chair by his bed.

Sorry to have woken you.mou hitori no Yugi conveyed as he heard his aibou's voice, blushing slightly, hoping that it was dark enough to camouflage his burning crimson face.

/It's alright, I couldn't sleep myself. It's tomorrow! Maybe we can recover the memories you've been looking for for so long! I'm so happy I can't sleep!!/

Yami looked down, a twinge of worry creasing his brow as he wondered whether he could be with his little hikari in the future, forever. 

Aibou…  I'm the spirit of the pharaoh that was sealed in the Puzzle, and while recovering my lost memories, I met you, my friend. And Joey, Tea, and Tristan…

/Yup!/

I'll never forget our friendship. No matter what happens in the future, I'll remember.

/No matter… What happens…/ Yugi smiled to himself, pl eased. But at the same time, Yami could see that he was slightly shaken by his words. He knew that Yugi had grown rather attached to him, and wouldn't want anything to happen to his darkness.

The memories of our friendship are my most treasured gems. But… what the future holds…

/Mou hitori no boku. Like I assembled the pieces of the Millennium Puzzle… It's now your turn to finish the puzzle of your memories!/

Aibou…

/Until that puzzle is completed, I'm always your aibou!/ Yugi promised, smiling and blushing at the same time, and Yami knew it was a promise he wouldn't break for the world.

Yeah! Yami felt elated that his hikari liked him enough to make such a promise, and gave him a sudden hug, knocking the wind out of his blushing little light.

-

Blinking back tears that threatened to fall any moment, Yami realized that he'd arrived at Kaiba's house. Ringing the doorbell, he saw Kaiba open the door himself.

"Yugi!" Kaiba gasped, as he saw that his best friend looked ready to cry. "What's wrong?"

"Kaiba… I'm not Yugi," Yami [as Yugi] confessed, wiping his face with the back of his hand.

"What do you mean you're not Yugi?!" the ex-high priest exclaimed in surprise. Had Yugi gone mad? He certainly did look like Yugi, he acted like Yugi and everything.

"I'm Yami. You know, the guy you like to duel…" came a muffled reply, as Yami buried his face in his knees, feeling a little embarrassed. But it was not like he could hold back his tears. After all, it was his aibou they were talking about! 

"Yeah, I know, but what're you doing in Yugi's body?!"

"Um. We sort of switched, so he's now in Egypt… And I can't even communicate with him. I think something's gone wrong…" Yami elaborated, sniffing, as Kaiba led him upstairs to his office.

"You said that Yugi's supposed to be in the palace? I can check…" Kaiba consoled, gently pushing him down onto a chair, and thrusting his Blue Eyes plushie into Yami's arms, and added with a grin, "Don't worry, Blue Eyes will make you feel better…"

Yami gave a watery smile, resting his chin on Blue Eyes contentedly, glad to let Kaiba take the lead. As he watched, Kaiba instructed the computer to open DMRPG, which he'd been improving, and the two entered the virtual world.

"Bakura!!" Kaiba shouted in surprise as he saw the silver-haired Millennium Ring holder. "How did you get here?"

Yami, who was still unable to speak confidently and was still cuddling the Blue Eyes plushie, managed to choke out, "Yugi's in trouble."

Ryou nodded, "The other Bakura told me something was going on. The pharaoh was acting weird and going around with orders to attack the people. The real Atemu wouldn't do that. Neither would Yugi. We all know that."

"So what's going on?" Kaiba demanded, slightly confused. DMRPG reflected what was happening for real in ancient Egypt—it had been an accident, and he knew it could have something to do with his past as a high priest. He had just turned on the game one day, and seen so many things that he had not added—like the Kuru'elna Village, and the large stone tablets from which monsters could be summoned…

The three pushed their way through the crowd, and headed for the palace, dressed in regular Egyptian garb, hoping they wouldn't be noticed.

-

"Please stop!!" Yugi cried, as he felt Akushiko's freezing grasp tighten around his throat, tears of fear forming in his eyes. He had no desire of being suffocated in his very own soul room.

"This won't take too long. And thank you, pharaoh, for permitting me the use of your soul. And don't worry, we'll honor your death anniversary… Even though you won't be around, body or soul. "  Akushiko chuckled to herself.

Aibou!! Don't be afraid!the voice of his darkness pierced through Yugi's mind.

/Yami!?/ Yugi was careful not to change his expression, in case Akunadin's disciple tightened her grasp around his neck further, but there was a faint glimmer of hope in his eyes.

Akushiko chanted a few words, and the little light found himself pinioned to the stone wall. There were no visible threads, but something was holding him back. Her grasp tautened around his throat, and he realized that he would not last much longer if this went on.

A sudden burst of pain in his chest made him wince, and he wondered whether he would be dead before Yami found him somehow.

Don't give up! Yugi heard his other self encourage, and tried to take a quick gasp of air. But this infuriated the evil Akushiko and she blasted a beam of dark energy at his heart.

Yugi screamed in pain, gasping and struggling as the dark energy washed over him. Feeling exhausted, his head swam, and he blacked out.

"I told you it would be quick," the evil girl grinned to herself, satisfied with her deeds. Just then, the metal door of the soul room opened, and Yami saw Akushiko beside his aibou.

"Tea? What have you done to my hikari?!" Yami yelled, fury rising.

"So which of you is Atemu? Oh well, either one will do, I'll collect my sweet prize now if it's fine with you…" Akushiko smirked, and reached down for Yugi's collar, and picked him up.

"Don't you dare touch my hikari!!" Yami threatened.

"Who says?" Akushiko gave a most annoying smile, and shot an energy beam at Yami, but it wasn't any use at all, since Yami had experience in the arcane magical arts, and blocked her attack easily with his own shield. Seizing the opportunity while she chanted another spell, Yami utilized his own abilities and sent a beam of purple-black energy at her. "Dark Magic!"

Realizing that she had made a powerful enemy, Akushiko's form melted into the air, and Yugi was left lying on the ground, still knocked out.

Convinced that their threat was no more for the time being, Yami ran to Yugi's side, and pulled him onto his lap.

Aibou, please say something!!Yami shook Yugi gently, warm tears slowly trailing down his cheeks, and falling onto Yugi's face.

/Yami…/ Yugi opened his eyes and grinned in recognition at Yami. /You came./

I was too late…Yami murmured, more to himself than to his light.

/Don't worry. It's not your fault…/ Yugi took Yami's hands in his, and embraced his darkness comfortingly. Yami replied by wrapping his arms around his hikari, who leaned closer.

-End of Chapter 8-

A/N: In case you guys haven't figured out, Akushiko is Egyptian Tea. It's a name I made up myself, it means Demon Death—悪死子. Forgive me if you think it's lame, 'cuz I couldn't think of anything else. Little Yugi is so cute in this chappie, don't know if you guys think so… IMO… Yami is also very kawaii… actually most of the characters are very likeable… Me faves—all in this fic… Heyyy… nobody likes Tea! Not much of a surprise actually… And also, does anyone know how come this character "" and "" doesn't show up in my fic?

Yet another **POLL: Yugi X Yami or Yugi/Yami X Tea?**

I know the answers, but I need confirmation…  

Azzie: Hehe a lot of fics have HER clinging to mou hitori no Yugi… I think I saw a pic in the manga vol. 37… Not very clingy somehow, but still… I thought it might be too lame, to get Seto and Mokie back together… Glad you liked it! So Seto's a reincarnation of his past self? confused I never was sure about that…

invisible-eyes: Tea is quite an… interesting… character… cough But she fits right in with this fic, that's why I stuffed her in. And since it looks like everyone in Domino City has an Egyptian self, well…

Pharaohs Angel: You changed your screen name! And thanks for your great feedback, every time I put up a new chappie I kinda wonder whether I get flamed… And… you hate Tea too! gives Pharaohs Angel a hi-five along with other anti-Tea readers Sugar IS good… Yum… Sorry to hear you're diabetic… Everyone likes sugar…

Yugi-chan: Everyone who likes Yami/Yugi doesn't like Tea… I wonder why…

**THANKS EVERONE FOR READING, AND MORE MANGA SCANS!**


	9. Alone

:…: Hikari to yami

::…:: Yami to hikari

Slight shonen-ai.

Yu-Gi-Oh! is owned and created by Kazuki Takahashi

Chapter 9: Alone 

Yugi glanced at his Yami, trying to figure out his expression of bewilderment, frustration, and anxiety. After all, Akushiko was gone, and Kaiba could get them all out of DMRPG whenever they wanted. This was a game, wasn't it? Little did he know that there was more to Akushiko than met the eye—it had been pure luck that saved Yugi from the clutches of the evil mage.

_:Yami, what's bothering you?:_ the hikari asked, knowing that something was definitely wrong. His darkness was quiet, but never that silent.

_::Nothing. Everything's fine…::_ Yami replied, trying to evade Yugi's question rather unsuccessfully.

Yugi always knew when someone was worried, he seemed to be able to sense everyone's feelings. But when the inquisitive light got to the bottom of things, he'd try to solve the problem, regardless of whether he got beaten up or not. He was just too self-sacrificial at times. Or perhaps it was his innocence that led him into boiling water time after time.

_:Yami… you can tell me. Please…:_ Yugi persisted, looking at Yami with his penetrating amethyst-eyed gaze.

_::Akushiko… She will be back. I'm sure of it. And she'll try to steal your soul again…::_ Yami finally revealed, wondering whether he'd done the right thing.

A frown formed on Yugi's face, and Yami knew that he was worrying himself to bits as usual.  

--

Bakura snuck around the palace gates, the usual smirk on his face. Atemu was still going around giving orders to murder all the high priests, and he wasn't even discreet about it. The targeted high priests persistently disbelieved all the rumors flying around about the massacre, being the excessively loyal assistants of the pharaoh, not even once did a shadow of doubt surface in any of their minds.

As he crept around, he wondered why his hikari and his annoying friends hadn't shown up. They had agreed to meet when Ra rose in the east, but it was long past then. The heat was getting to him, he usually remained hidden from the prying eyes of the high priests in the day, only coming out to go treasure-hunting at the graveyard hour. Retreating into the scant shade of the gatekeeper's shed beside the entrance, he heard a voice complain, "Ow! Quit stepping on my foot Yugi!"

::Hikari, you there? Just beside the shed?::

:Yeah, where are you? We've been waiting like forever…:

::Great, you're invisible.:: The yami reached out, and to no surprise of his, touched something that he had never expected to be there.

:Baku, what are you doing? That hurt! :

::Oh sorry, didn't mean to whack you…::

It was then decided that Yugi [and Yami, since he couldn't repossess his own body and had to share with Yugi again, much to the delight of the little light] and Kaiba were to actually go into the palace, while Ryou stayed with his yami at the gate to update the others constantly.

--

"Pharaoh Akunadin. The ritual can begin at any time. Should I start now…?" Akushiko rubbed her hands together in anticipation. She couldn't wait till her master gave the command to begin, soon they would be immortalized, and nothing would ruin their journey to world domination, not ever. Yugi hadn't known, but the spellbinding magic she had cast on him in his very own soul room allowed for his soul to be removed at any time. On the other hand, Yami had a foreboding feeling most of the time. 

"No. Even if we can absorb the boy's soul now, it is nothing like seeing the stupid thing struggle as we nibble at his soul a little at a time."

--

_::Aibou, please let me take over…::_ Yami pleaded, as he felt his hikari's fear.

_:No it's okay, I don't want you to get hurt.:_ Yugi gazed cutely at his darkness with his bright amethyst eyes.

_::But…::_ Yami's heart melted as ruby eyes met amethyst. It was useless to say anything when Yugi was being stubborn.

_:Yami, please let me do this…:_

Kaiba was busily tapping away on his laptop, but in the virtual world he was sitting in a dim corner of the palace, writing a virus that would hopefully destroy Akunadin and Akushiko. He knew that it would work, but wasn't sure how long it would take for the infection to take effect. With any luck, it would all go very well, and everyone would be able to escape unscathed. It helped that they were in DMRPG, and could log out at any moment… Or could they…?

A few moments later, though it seemed like infinity to Yugi and Yami, Kaiba stood up, wearing a satisfied smirk on his face.

"'K, the virus has transferred to them, now all we have to do is wait. Bakura knows too." Thanks to the chat function of DMRPG, the group could communicate very easily.

"I really don't feel good about killing them." Yugi murmured softly.

_::Aibou, they tried to kill you?!::_ Yami started overreacting. _::There's no way you can ever forgive them!!::_

"It's either them or us." Kaiba reassured his best friend.

"Still…" Yugi complained a little, his kind nature kicking in. He never knew when to say no. He always put the feelings of others before his, that was his greatest flaw, yet a rare thing to be found in the youth of today.

-Flashback-

"Yugi. For every thousand life points I lose, I will take a step back." Kaiba threatened menacingly from the edge of the balcony where their duel took place. It was a height to the vast green-blue sea below.

Duelist Kingdom was a tournament held by Maximilian Pegasus, and he had forced Yugi to enter it—by stealing Yugi's beloved grandfather's soul. If Yugi won, Grandpa would be freed from within Pegasus' card. If he lost… Who knew what would happen?

Seto Kaiba knew where Yugi's weakness laid, but was not sure whether it was the regular large-eyed Yugi Mutou he was dueling or the strange, freaky guy whom Yugi sometimes metamorphosed into. But there wasn't any way out—if he lost the duel, he wouldn't be able to get Mokuba back. So what was the point of living anymore then? The consequences seemed dire. It was now or never, both players had almost the same amount of life points, but it was Yugi's turn. Celtic Guardian would attack him, and everything would end. Including his life.

Kaiba took a few steps back.

The light felt his heart turn cold, from deep within the Millennium Puzzle. Questions pricked the back of his mind. _:This other guy who is dueling as me—who is he? And what does he want from me?: _He had seen what his darkness had done before, if he did not stop the duel somehow, Kaiba would die, like the others who had burned to death at the hands of his yami. No matter how much he disliked Kaiba, he knew he could not let him die.

"Celtic Guardian attack!" Yugi heard the deeper voice of his dark side announce. _:If I don't do anything now… PLEASE STOP!!: _Yugi cried vainly. He had tried so many times before to stop Yami from killing, but… Would it work this time?

_::My hikari… I will do anything for you.::_

Celtic Guardian froze in mid-swing of his sword.

"Yugi. Since you gave me a chance, I will repay you by attacking you. Attack!!" Kaiba screamed in relief.

The lifepoint meter of the small hikari went down to zero, and Kaiba smirked to himself as he claimed Yugi's star chips.

Yugi fell to the stony floor, tears flowing down his cheeks, overcome with emotion. He had gotten so near to victory, but he had lost. Kaiba had been so close to death—and he didn't even seem to care at all. He had just taken advantage of the situation for a smooth road to victory. _:How am I going to save Grandpa?:_

--End of flashback--

Yugi and Kaiba heard Ryou's voice in their ears, "Akushiko is heading into the palace!! We'll try to stop her…"

"Huh?!" Kaiba was taken aback. He had not predicted that the evil magician would arrive so soon; would the virus affect her after only such a short while?

A brunette girl materialized before Kaiba and Yugi, chanting an eerie spell, her eyes closed, and her hair billowing out behind her in a mystical wind that swept the entire area.

_::Let me take over!::_

_:Yami, please believe me, I can do it.:_ Yugi gulped, trying not to tremble.  

Yugi felt a sharp pain sear through his entire body, like he was being ripped to pieces. Gasping, the hikari fell in a crumpled heap on the sandy ground. _:Yami!!:_

_::Aibou what's wrong?!::_ Yami appeared at his light's side, feeling the pain burn through him as well. Just then, he sensed that Akushiko had cast a spell on Yugi to tear his soul from his body, but the fact that _two_ souls were occupying Yugi's body at one time was messing her spell up. 

_::Say something!!::_ Yami bit his lip to keep himself from crying, but his efforts were ineffective. The darkness rarely showed any emotion, saving his tears for important occasions. He could not feel Yugi beside him any longer, his lighter alter ego had disappeared in that split second, without leaving a single trace of his pure soul.

Then everything went dark.

_::Where am I? I can't seem to see myself… It's like I don't exist anymore…::_

--

 "Kaiba!"  Ryou called urgently. "There… There's a purple-black mass in the middle of the palace! Can you go check it out?"

"Yugi and Yami are gone, Akushiko's taken their souls!" Kaiba tried to remain calm, but with Akushiko standing just beside him, absorbing Yami and Yugi's soul energy, it was all he could do to keep his voice from shaking.

"Curses!" Ryou cried, dashing through the palace gates with his yami, trying to get to the others before it was too late.

--

_:Mou hitori no boku… Doko?: _The hikari bit his bottom lip, blinking back tears.

--

Bakura dragged his panting light down the labyrinth-like corridors that led to the area Kaiba and Akushiko were, cursing. This wasn't supposed to happen! It wasn't possible that an apprentice mage could rip _two_ souls from Yugi's body in such a short time.

A cool voice broke his train of thought. "I'm afraid you're too late. Your friend is gone now, and you'll never see him again, not now, not ever."

_::Atemu!::_ Bakura's heart leaped when he saw the just pharaoh, then remembered that Atemu was possessed by Akushiko, while Yami's spirit was wandering aimlessly somewhere.

"I am not going to let you interrupt my student in her work," Akunadin continued, and the Millennium Puzzle that hung around his neck emitted a force that nobody had ever seen or felt before.

Everywhere in Egypt, time froze in its tracks.

Ryou saw his yami suddenly halt, and noticed that _nothing_ was moving. His soft brown eyes met his yami's blank ones.

_:Baku, what's wrong? Why has everyone stopped moving?:_

Silence settled in the back of his muddled mind, and he reached out to hug his darker self tightly.

_:I'm sorry. I have to go look for Yugi and the others.: _

Running ahead, he shut his eyes tight, to keep his sadness within him as much as possible. The hikari knew that Bakura would not want him to just sit down and cry.

_:I'll make you proud of me. I'll come back, no matter what. I promise.:_

--

"Mou hitori no boku…" Yugi murmured silently to himself. "Will I be alone again?"

 -=-End of chapter-=-

Authoress Notes: The next chapter is the epilogue which I decided to post the same time as this chapter, so if you want to know what happens in the end, you better read it! Please? XD And please review too?  


	10. Hikari to Kage no, Futatsu no Kokoro

:…: Hikari to Yami

::Yami to Hikari::

**Shonen-ai.**

Yu-Gi-Oh! is owned and created by Kazuki Takahashi

The song "Fly" is sung by Manabu Oshio and published by Universal Records.   

Chapter 10: Epilogue: Hikari to Kage no, Futatsu no Kokoro 

_:Why does it always end up like this?:_ The hikari reflected sadly. _:Maybe it's my destiny… I'm not fated to be happy…:_

--

_Reaching for the sky so hard _

_You are trying to get up from everything_

_That's right, it always lies in your hands_

--

"Yami!" Yugi cried out loud, his voice thick with emotion, shoving these depressing thoughts to the back of his mind. Something in his heart told him that his darkness and the others were in boiling water too. For one thing, he couldn't at all speak with his darkness—he felt completely empty, for one half of his soul had been taken.   
  
Sinking to the cool ground, which was of a material that he had never felt before, he shut his eyes and began to think. The last time he entered his soul room, he had been locked inside and confronted by Akushiko. Would she be there once more? Feeling slightly apprehensive, the little light cracked his knuckles and focused.

_:Why am I so afraid? It's MY soul room…:_

_--_

_Fighting for your life so hard _

_Someday you will see the light_

_Get ready for your life, burning your hope, your strength_

_--_

Rubbing his eyes in disbelief, Yugi wondered if his eyes were playing tricks on him. It was all dark, and wasn't at all like his brightly-lit, airy soul room filled with toys. Once his eyes grew accustomed to the pitch-black darkness, he stretched out his arms, moving slowly, hoping to feel something solid. His fingers brushed against a wall, then a metal door handle, and he grasped it firmly. Just as the hikari expected, it did not budge. It seemed stuck fast.

_:I don't ever want to be blind,:_ he shivered slightly, feeling a cold fear grip him. He felt uncomfortable in such an unknown darkness, especially when this was supposed to be his soul room.

--

_I will fight and fight for me_

I will show the world what I can do 

_If I had the wings I will fly high than anything, anyone_

_--_

Ignoring the mysteriously locked door, Yugi continued his exploration of the area, not knowing what to expect anymore. His other hand touched another doorknob, just opposite of the other door, and tried it…

_:OH! I know where I am!:_ the hikari squeaked excitedly, pleased. _:I'm in the corridor between our soul rooms! But I can't get in either of them… Yami wouldn't lock me out… I think when our souls were torn away…:_

Soon Yugi's quick mind formulated a logical explanation—since Akushiko had technically stolen his soul, he could not get into his soul room because he didn't have a soul.

:Then what am I, now?:

_--_

Fly so high, fly so high 

_I will prove what I can do, I will not give up I won't_

_Fly so high, fly so high_

_Till the day that I will die, I will raise and I will fight _

_For my life_

--

Akushiko paused in her tracks, making Kaiba wonder what exactly she was doing. Nothing had moved, for quite a while. _Why?_ But perhaps now his virus would have plenty of time to take effect. Glancing at his computer screen, he saw that the virus had almost finished transferring to the crazy apprentice.

Come on… Just one more percent… YES!! Now let's see what happens. 

Most of the time the CEO forced him to keep his emotions in check, but he allowed himself a soft whoop before turning back to Akushiko.

--

_I feel alone everyday_

_Sky of love, sky of tears_

Glory and sadness, everybody feels the same 

_--_

Yami groaned as he sat up, feeling like he'd been run over by a truck. And now everything was pitch-black. Not a thought about Akushiko crossed his mind. The darkness felt really weird, then recalled that he no longer had his lighter side with him. Even though their mind link had been almost closed in the beginning, when Yugi was somewhat corrupted by his despair, he had never felt so forlorn. The darkness found himself pining for his little hikari. _::So kawaii…::_ he thought, a smile on his face. _::Especially when he smiles…::_

_::Aibou, will I ever get to see you again?::_

--

_I've been searching through the dark_

_If there's a light up ahead_

_And I will meet you, on top of the "Holy Sky"_

_--_

Yugi paced up and down the musty corridor, feeling extra irritated at the whole situation. His patience had worn thin, due to walking round in circles for what felt like an infinity. Plopping himself down on the floor, he tried to calm himself down. Being trapped in such a tiny area for such a long time had given the hikari a splitting headache.

_:I wanna see my Yami…:_ He grumbled. _:MY Yami? I shouldn't be thinking about mou hitori no boku like that… It's impossible…:   _

_--_

_I will fight and fight for you_

I will do anything for you 

_If I had the power to fly high than anything, anyone_

--

"YA-MIII!!" Yugi screamed, frustrated. "I won't give up until I find you! I promise!!"

_--_

_Fly so high, fly so high_

_Wind is calling out your name, it is giving you the strength_

_Fly so high, fly so high_

_Look at yourself and try, rise now_

_For your life I will fly with you_

_--_

A bright light resonated from deep within the hikari, and Yami emanated a fearful darkness.

_:Wh- What's going on?: _

The light and darkness converged to form a blinding image of the Millennium Puzzle, which exploded in a burst of radiance. It lit up the whole area, and the two found that they were standing side by side.

"I guess this is it," Yami gazed at his hikari, a sadness filling his heart.

Nodding, Yugi did not trust himself to speak, a lump was forming in his throat. __

_--_

_If you feel alone I will be there for you_

_Take my hand, we will now reach the shining star_

_So now come with me now, fly with me now, I will take you, yeah_

_There is only one sky to fly _

_The time has come so fly to your light_

_--_

"M… Mou hitori no boku…" Yugi choked out softly between sobs. "Boku wa… I don't want you to go!"

"I… I'm sorry…" The darkness felt unchecked tears cascading down his cheeks like a broken string of pearls, but did not brush them away. Pulling his hikari towards him, he engulfed his light in an embrace.  "Boku no aibou wa… Aishiteru…" ["My other half… I love you…"]

"Hontou ni…? [Really…?]" Yugi gazed up into the ruby eyes of his dark side, and hugged him back. "Aishiteru…" ["I love you too…"]

_--_

_Fly so high, fly so high_

_I will prove what I can do, I will not give up I won't_

Fly so high, fly so high 

_Till the day that I will die, I will raise and I will fight _

--

Beneath the feet of the pharaoh and his lighter counterpart, Egypt was slowly fading away into nothingness. Akushiko and Akunadin vanished along with the past. Kaiba, and Ryou watched this in apprehension, not wanting to know what would happen if the place they were in disappeared.

Finally the last of the ancient land to which they did not belong vanished, while a Blue Eyes White Dragon soared high in the sky, weaving in between the clouds, until at last, it vanished.  

--

_Fly so high, for my life_

_I've been searching through the dark_

_I will fight and fight for you_

_--_

Yugi took in the fact that he was standing in his bedroom, leaning in his Yami's arms.

_:Mou hitori no boku…:_

The darker looked up, and winced as the bright light stung his eyes. Glancing down at his hikari, he grinned contentedly as he realized that he was once more a translucent form. Which meant that he was going to be sharing his light's body once more, probably for a long time to come.

A particular hikari stood on tiptoe, and blushing, reached up to give his beloved Yami a gentle kiss…

Light and darkness had brought harmony to the dissonance, and neither could exist apart.   

-=-THE END-=-

Authoress Notes: My first songfic chappie… Was that a songfic? I'm not all that sure myself… It sure has been fun writing this fic… It turned out more fantasy-ish than cyberpunk fiction, like I'd initially planned… And a tad more shonen-ai too… Hope you guys had as much fun reading as I had writing it [first time I experienced writer's block…] First time writing shonen-ai too… [though it's not very much…] There might be a sequel, I don't know, but I kind of have an idea for a Kaiba story which would be tied to this one. XD

Many thanks to: invisible-eyes, pharaoh's angel, and Azzie, [Thanks for reading and reviewing so constantly since the beginning!!] as well as all the people who read, reviewed, [or didn't review] XD


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